Report calls for end to child marriage

Ms Elia was just 14 when her parents married her off to a man who burnt her homework and forced her out of school when she tried to continue her education.

Her story, which happened in Australia and not a developing country, features in a new report trying to end child marriage in the Indo-Pacific region.

The report says there are about 250 known cases of child marriage in Australia.

Its co-author, Anti-Slavery Australia, says child marriage is under-researched and often misunderstood in Australia.

Its director Jennifer Burn says there is a need for more research, training of frontline workers, community awareness and development of effective support programs.

While the report looks at Australian cases of child marriage, it also tackles the much bigger problem in developing countries in the Indo-Pacific Region.

In the developing world 14 million girls under the age of 18 are forced into marriage every year.

The other co-author of the report, Plan International Australia, says addressing the problem in developing countries is the best way to end it in Australia.

"Child marriage in Australia is inextricably linked to child marriage overseas, so the most effective way to end it here is to tackle the problem at its root and that's by ending it in the developing world," Plan International Australia CEO Ian Wishart says.

The report wants the government to use its foreign aid program to specifically address child marriage and promote girls' access to quality education.

It also calls for the government to advocate a UN General Assembly resolution to end child marriage.

The public can also sign a petition calling on the government to act.

The report is called Just Married, Just a Child, Child Marriage in the Indo-Pacific Region.