Syrian brides

Q. In Syria, 20 Australian women and 46 children are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces alongside their husbands who were captured while fighting for the Islamic State. These women and children are not considered prisoners of war but are unable to leave the camp and return to Australia.

It’s a complex situation where national security issues, human rights violations and the law all intersect.

Broadly, to what extent do you support or oppose these women and children returning to Australia?

		Gender		Age
	Total	Male	Female	18-34	35-54	55+
Strongly support	17%	15%	19%	29%	13%	10%
Somewhat support	22%	22%	22%	23%	26%	17%
Somewhat oppose	24%	30%	19%	10%	23%	37%
Strongly oppose	23%	21%	25%	23%	21%	26%
Don’t know	14%	12%	15%	15%	16%	10%
NET: Support	39%	37%	41%	52%	40%	27%
NET: Oppose	47%	51%	44%	34%	44%	62%
Base (n)	1,088	539	549	342	373	373

 

	Total	Voting Intention
		Labor	Coalition	Greens	NET: Other
Strongly support	17%	18%	15%	29%	10%
Somewhat support	22%	26%	19%	28%	19%
Somewhat oppose	24%	20%	31%	10%	41%
Strongly oppose	23%	23%	28%	17%	20%
Don’t know	14%	13%	8%	16%	10%
NET: Support	39%	45%	33%	57%	29%
NET: Oppose	47%	42%	59%	27%	61%
Base (n)	1,088	343	380	107	130

• Almost half (47%) of participants are opposed to the Syrian brides and children being returned to Australia – this is driven by those over 55 (62% opposed), those with professional qualifications (53%), non-capital residents (53%), Liberal voters (59%) and independent/other voters (61%).
• Greens voters (57%), 18-34 year olds (52%) and university educated participants (49%) are most supportive of the families returning home.