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TRANSCRIPT:
Someone's wedding day is often one of the happiest days of their life.
For this woman, who we'll call Layla - not her real name - it was the opposite.
At 15 years old, she was pulled out of school and made to marry her cousin.
She says 50 years later, it put her on the wrong path for much of her life.
"From the beginning, I didn't like all my life. Because I got married when I was young - 15. At 16, I had my son. Of course, it is not easy. It was difficult. It was very, very, very hard. It was not easy, what I went through all my life."
Her husband has since died.
But she says her suffering continues, and has affected her relationships with her seven children.
"Like how I told you... for nearly 13 years, still, now, I see a psychologist. And I am not young. I am nearly 65 years old. I try, I try very hard to be happy. But I can't be."
Rand Faied is a family counsellor.
She says the story Layla tells is unsurprising.
She says a marriage through coercion, threats, or deception can lead to lifelong trauma.
"It will cause emotional damage, psychological damage. The sexuality of the victim... the ability to form a good, meaningful relationship, will be impacted for sure."
Ms Faied, along with the Australian Federal Police, says schools can a play a big role in stopping forced marriages in Australia.
Federal Police lead the Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, which reports it has been receiving more complaints about forced marriages.
There were 118 in the 2024-2025 financial year, as opposed to 91 the previous financial year.
Helen Schneider is an AFP Commander in this area.
She says schools can see changes, which might be brought about by forced marriage, in a young person that few others can spot, and, in that way, are the front line of defence against the practice.
"That schooling environment is a sector we really want to target as the Australian Federal Police. It's a sector where we know people have strong relationships with children - educators will note those subtle changes in behaviour. And they might probably be the only people in the community of that child who notice those subtle differences."
The typical signs of coerced marriage can include children with limited independence, constant monitoring by a family member, and girls expressing concern about an arranged overseas trip.
But experts say the early signs within school can look a bit different.
They include withdrawing from schoolwork, isolating from friends, or taking a lot of days off.
Commander Schneider says the federal police want to work with schools to help keep children safe.
"Schooling communities obviously might be the only place that young people might have an outlet outside of a family circumstance where they might be at risk. And when it comes to protecting vulnerable communities, the AFP is keen to work across sectors to ensure that we are really providing the safest environment for our children."
Offences around forced marriage are notoriously difficult to prosecute.
Ms Schneider says the jump of nearly 30 per cent in reported cases doesn't necessarily mean, though, that it's actually happening more often.
"So, what we're seeing... I think it means that we are seeing more people report. It's difficult to tell whether it means there's an increase in that offending happening, but we are very well aware that this is a live issue in Australia."
Layla's school was not able to detect the early signs of her forced marriage.
But police hope education can prevent other children from similar experiences.
