Islamic State extremists aren't just a death cult but a raping one too, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned young women.
Authorities believe there are up to 40 Australian women supporting the terrorists in Syria and Iraq and Ms Bishop hoped to warn any more off joining them.
Reports emerged overnight of a Sydney mother who had left two young children to go to Syria, where she planned to marry an IS fighter.
"I'm deeply pessimistic about the fate of this apparently troubled young woman," Ms Bishop told parliament on Tuesday.
However, she was thankful the woman had left her children behind, unlike others.
IS, also known as Daesh, used sexual violence, forced prostitution and brutalisation of women as a deliberate tactic, Ms Bishop said, citing United Nations investigations.
The UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, recently cited the case of a 20-year-old woman burned alive because she refused to perform an extreme sexual act.
Another woman was trafficked by IS fighters more than 20 times.
"It is simply incomprehensible that while streams of innocent young women and girls are desperately trying to get away from Daesh, young Australian women and girls are seeking to join them," Ms Bishop said.
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