Doesn’t criminalising corporal punishment mean that thousands of parents will be prosecuted and many more children will be placed in state care?
The point of a law banning all corporal punishment is not about putting parents in jail. It is about fulfilling children’s rights and moving societies on to positive non-violent relationships with children. There is no evidence of increased prosecution of parents from the growing number of countries where corporal punishment is criminalised. Banning corporal punishment fulfils states’ human rights obligations to children. Its first purpose is educational to send a clear message into the privacy of the home that it is no more acceptable or lawful to hit a child than to hit anyone else. Guidance to all those involved in child protection, including the police and prosecuting authorities, should ensure that implementation of the law is focused on the best interests of the child. Prosecution and other formal interventions are unlikely to benefit children unless they are the only way to achieve necessary protection from significant harm.
