Teen bride failed multiple times by Victorian authorities before grisly death

A woman who was a teenage bride in Afghanistan before moving to Victoria was physically abused by her husband and threatened by his family before she set herself alight in their backyard.

A woman who suffered physical abuse by her husband and in-laws was failed by multiple support services, a Coroner has found. Picture: iStock

A teenage bride living in Victoria on a spousal visa was failed by multiple support services who knew of the abuse she faced by her partner and his family prior to her death, a Coroner has found.

The new mum, married in Afghanistan at just 18 years of age, set herself alight in the backyard of the home she shared with her extended family on February 5, 2018.

Her violent death followed physical abuse by her husband, father-in law and threats by her mother-in-law who reportedly told her the family had the right to kill her.

“It is well within the rights of the family to kill her given she has disobeyed her husband and specifically because she has spoken up in terms of sticking up for herself,” the mother-in-law reportedly said.

An inquest into the woman’s death by State Coroner Judge John Cain found welfare agencies including child protection and Safe Steps failed to adequately protect and support the 22-year-old mother and her five-month-old baby.

Judge Cain found the woman – who did not speak English, had no access to transport and no family, friends or social supports – was not offered culturally appropriate support by child protection following a public assault of the woman by her husband while she was holding their baby daughter.

A teenage bride living in Victoria on a spousal visa was failed by multiple support services, a Coroner has found. Picture: David Crosling

Court documents state she was repeatedly slapped in the face by her husband in the carpark of McDonald’s in Cranbourne after she left the family house following an almost identical assault by her father-in-law on November 26, 2017.

The woman was being picked up by a trusted person when her husband violently intervened.

A family violence intervention order (FVIO) was made to protect the mum and baby however court documents state the woman “demonstrated limited insight” that her husband was perpetrating family violence against her and that she pleaded for the order be varied so they could live together again.

Police records showed the woman relied on her husband for her visa.

Judge Cain found had she been linked with a multicultural support service, she may have felt safe to “elaborate on her experiences of violence and receive culturally informed support and advice to navigate the service system and the legalities of her immigration status”.

The inquest also found that child protection services “do not appear to have made any attempts” to share information with the maternal child health nurse service which was in regular contact with the mum and her baby.

“As a result, the MCHN was unaware of Child Protection involvement and Child Protection were not provided with critical information held by this service, thus compromising any risk assessment or safety planning that occurred with the family,” Judge Cain said.

Judge Cain also found Safe Steps, a 24/7 family violence response centre, failed to link the woman with mental health supports when she expressed suicidal ideation or conduct appropriate risk assessments when she contacted them weeks before her death.

Child protection and Safe Steps improved their services following the woman’s death.

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