July 2014
Young children’s right to an end to all violent punishment
Prohibition and elimination of all violent punishment of children is a well-established human rights
obligation. Young children are among the most likely to experience corporal punishment and are
most vulnerable to its many negative effects.
Yet despite widespread concern about violence against young children in the home and elsewhere,
the legal and social acceptance of violent punishment is rarely highlighted in child protection work in
the early childhood sector. Similarly, the legality and practice of violent punishment is seldom
explicitly addressed in the promotion of early childhood care and education services or in efforts to
improve young children’s health and development. Neglect of the issue weakens attempts to combat
violence against young children. And the persisting legality and widespread social acceptance of
violent punishment of children reduces the potential of all work on early childhood to improve
developmental outcomes for children and prevent this most common form of violence in their lives.
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children urges organisations promoting
improved conditions for young children to incorporate advocacy for the prohibition and
elimination of corporal punishment into their work on violence against children, early childhood
care and education, children’s health and development and other related topics.
Corporal punishment of children: a global overview
Large majorities of children experience violent punishment in their homes and elsewhere in states in
all world regions. A major UNICEF report on 33 low- and middle-income states found that on average
75% of children aged 2-4 had experienced violent punishment in the home in the month prior to the
survey.1
This painful and humiliating treatment remains lawful in some or all settings of children’s lives in a
majority of states: 160 states have yet to prohibit corporal punishment in the home and violent
punishment of children remains lawful in day care and/or early education in 154 states and in
schools in 76 states. Despite widespread concern about violence against children in alternative care,
corporal punishment remains lawful in institutional care and foster care in a large majority of states.
1
UNICEF (2010), Child Disciplinary Practices at Home: Evidence from a Range of Low- and Middle-Income
Countries, NY: UNICEF
There is growing progress towards universal prohibition of corporal punishment. As at July 2014, 38
states have prohibited all corporal punishment including in the home and family and another 45
have publicly committed to doing so. A majority of states (122) have prohibited corporal punishment
in schools. But there is a long way to go before all children have the legal protection from assault
which adults have long benefited from.
What is needed to end violent punishment?
1. Prohibition of all corporal punishment, including in the family home
All over the world, the traditional social acceptance of corporal punishment has been enshrined in
law. In some states, legal defences, justifications or authorisations explicitly allow parents and others
to use force to punish children. In others, the law is silent on corporal punishment, but in practice
laws against violence and assault are not interpreted as applying to all violent punishment of
children. In both cases, law reform is required to ensure that the law clearly protects children from
all violent punishment, however “light”, in the family home and all other settings.
Prohibition of all corporal punishment is required under international human rights law. The
Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to
protection from all corporal punishment2 makes it clear that the Convention on the Rights of the
Child requires states to prohibit all corporal punishment, in the family home and all other settings. In
its examinations of states’ compliance with the Convention, the Committee consistently
recommends prohibition. The issue has been extensively covered by other treaty bodies and in the
Universal Periodic Review.
Reports on every state, which include details of the laws on corporal punishment and
recommendations from human rights bodies, are available at www.endcorporalpunishment.org.
2. Implementation of the prohibition of corporal punishment
2
Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006), General Comment No. 8: The right of the child to protection
from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (arts. 19; 28, para. 2; and 37,
inter alia)
The primary purpose of prohibiting corporal punishment of children is to prevent violent punishment
of children, including by transforming attitudes and practice so that physical punishment is no longer
seen as acceptable in childrearing and education. This requires government-led population-level
measures to raise awareness of the law and of children’s right to protection.
Key channels and contact points for communicating this information to children, parents, future
parents and other adults include: birth registration; pre- and post-natal services; other health
services; preschool entry, school entry, the school curriculum and further education, and social and
welfare services in contact with children and families. Detailed guidance on implementing the law in
the best interests of children should be issued to all those involved and implementation of the
prohibition should be integrated into national and local child protection systems. Positive, nonviolent discipline should be promoted to parents, other family members and staff working with
children and families.
Measures to prevent corporal punishment in care and education settings should include initial and
in-service training of teachers, care workers and early childhood practitioners; ensuring that children
are able to make complaints and access independent advocates, and ensuring appropriate
safeguards in the recruitment and supervision of staff.
The impact of law reform and ongoing social and educational measures should be evaluated through
baseline and regular follow-up interview research involving children and parents.
Examples of laws prohibiting corporal punishment
“Parents, in the exercise of parental authority, have the right to exercise orientation, care and
correction of their children, and to import to them, in keeping with the evolution of their physical and
mental faculties, the guidance and orientation which are appropriate for their comprehensive
development. It is prohibited for parents and every person charged with the care, upbringing,
education, treatment and monitoring [of children and adolescents], whether on a temporary or
permanent basis, to use physical punishment or any type of humiliating, degrading, cruel or inhuman
treatment as a form of correction or discipline of children or adolescents.” (Honduras, Family Code as
amended 2013, art. 191)
“Corporal punishment shall not be inflicted on a child in an early childhood institution.” (Jamaica, Act
to Provide for the Regulation and Management of Early Childhood Institutions and for other
Connected Matters 2005, art. 16(1))
“Persons exercising parental care, care or alternative care over a minor are forbidden to use corporal
punishment, inflict psychological suffering and use any other forms of child humiliation.” (Poland,
Law of 6 May 2010 “On the Prevention of Family Violence”, art. 2)
The impact of prohibition
In many states which have prohibited corporal punishment in all settings including the family home,
research shows declining rates of perpetration and acceptance of corporal punishment. In Finland,
where prohibition was achieved in 1983, a series of six nationally representative surveys carried out
between 1981 and 2012 have shown a consistent decline in adult acceptance of corporal
punishment: from 47% in 1981 to 17% in 2012.3 In New Zealand, which achieved full prohibition of
corporal punishment in 2007, a 2013 survey found that a large majority of respondents (93%) were
aware of the prohibition and that acceptance of physical punishment of children was declining
steadily. Forty per cent of respondents thought it was sometimes alright for parents to physically
punish children, compared to 58% in 2008, more than 80% in 1993 and more than 90% in 1981.4
The devastating impact of violent punishment on young children
Physical punishment kills thousands of mostly very young children each year, injures many more
and is the direct cause of many children’s physical impairments.5 Most physical “child abuse” is
corporal punishment: research has consistently found that the majority of incidents substantiated by
authorities as abuse occur in a punitive context.6 Young children, who are much smaller and
physically weaker than the adults who inflict the punishment, are the most likely to be killed and
injured by corporal punishment. And physical punishment carries an inbuilt risk of escalation:7 “light
smacks” can all too easily escalate to more violent assault which may ultimately be fatal. The
purported distinction between “ordinary” physical punishment and “abuse” is meaningless: no line
can or should be drawn between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” violence against children. Where
young children are concerned, it is particularly important to stress that no physical punishment can
be said to be insignificant –adults, who are far bigger and stronger than the children they are
punishing, are often unable to judge the degree of force they use. When young children are asked
about their experiences of physical punishment, they make it clear that punishments which may
seem “light” to adults are physically and emotionally painful.8
Corporal punishment carries a wide range of other risks, to which young children’s developmental
stage makes them particularly vulnerable. It is associated with poor mental health, including with
behaviour disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, hostility and
emotional instability.9 It is linked to increased aggression in children10 and to impaired cognitive
3
Sariola, H. (2012), Violence against children and child sexual abuse in Finland, presentation given at the
Central Union for Child Welfare, Helsinki 30 August 2012; Central Union for Child Welfare (2012), Attitudes to
disciplinary violence, Finland: Central Union for Child Welfare & Taloustutkimus Oy
4
Wood, B. (2013), Physical punishment of children in New Zealand – six years after law reform, EPOCH New
Zealand
5
Krug E. G. et al (eds) (2002), World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva: World Health Organization
6
Jud, A. & Trocmé, N. (2013), Physical Abuse and Physical Punishment in Canada, Child Canadian Welfare
Research Portal Information Sheet # 122
7
Straus, M. & Douglas, E. (2008), “Research on spanking by parents: Implications for public policy”, The Family
Psychologist: Bulletin of the Division of Family Psychology (43) 24: 18-20
8
Willow, C. & Hyder, T. (1998), It Hurts You Inside: young children talk about smacking, Save the Children &
National Children’s Bureau
9
Gershoff, E. T. (2002), “Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A
meta-analytic and theoretical review”, Psychological Bulletin, 128(4), 539-579; Fergusson, D. M. & Lynskey, M.
T. (1997), “Physical punishment/maltreatment during childhood and adjustment in young adulthood”, Child
development: associations have been found between corporal punishment and lower IQ scores,
smaller vocabularies11 and poor cognitive abilities.12 Corporal punishment inflicted on a child by her
or his parents has been found to damage the parent-child relationship,13 including for very young
children. Associations have been found between corporal punishment and poor attachment by
babies to their mothers.14
Corporal punishment is an unnecessary and ineffective way of teaching children to behave. Violent
punishment is linked to behavioural problems15 and research has shown that although it may
increase children’s compliance with adult instructions in the short-term, in the long-term children
repeat the behaviour.16 Parents and carers often feel stressed and guilty when they inflict physical
punishment, and many do not believe in its efficacy.17 A UNICEF study in more than 30 states found
that although large numbers of adults inflicted physical punishment on children, non-violent
discipline was also widely used, and fewer than one in four mothers and caregivers believed that
physical punishment was necessary in childrearing.18
The overwhelming evidence of the many negative effects of corporal punishment highlights the
importance of prohibition not only as a human rights imperative in itself, but also as a key strategy
for improving health and developmental outcomes for children and reducing all forms of violence
in societies.
International health professionals’ organisations support prohibition
In 2013, major international health organisations issued a statement calling for prohibition and
elimination of all corporal punishment:
“In light of the human rights consensus on children’s right to legal protection from all violent
punishment, we, as organisations working for the health of children and adults, support prohibition
Abuse and Neglect 21, 617-30; de Zoysa, P. et al (2008), “Corporal Punishment in the Sri Lankan Context:
Psychological Outcomes for Our Children”, in Devore, D. M. (2006), New Developments in Parent-Child
Relations, Nova Science Publishers Inc
10
Gershoff, E. T. (2002), op cit
11
Smith, J. R. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997), “Correlates and consequences of harsh discipline for young children”,
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 151(8), 777-786
12
Straus, M. A. & Paschall, M. J. (2009) “Corporal Punishment by Mothers and Development of Children’s
Cognitive Ability: A Longitudinal Study of Two Nationally Representative Age Cohorts”, Journal of Aggression,
Maltreatment & Trauma, 18, 459-483
13
Gershoff, E. T. (2002), op cit
14
Coyl, D. D. et al (2002) “Stress, Maternal Depression, and Negative Mother-Infant Interactions in Relation to
Infant Attachment”, Infant Mental Health Journal 23(1-2), 145-163
15
For example, Kerr, D. C. R. et al (2004), “Parental Discipline and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Early
Childhood: The Role of Moral Regulation and Child Gender”, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(4), 369383
16
Gershoff, E. T. (2002), op cit
17
See for example Halpenny, A. M., Nixon, E. & Watson, D. (2010), Parenting Styles and Discipline: Parents’
Perspectives on Parenting Styles and Disciplining Children, Dublin: The Stationery Office/Office of the Minister
for Children and Youth Affairs; Save the Children Sweden & Instituto de Encuestas y Sondeos de Opinión
(2005), Sistematización de las Encuestas Sobre la Perceptión del Castigo Físico en Seis Países de America Latina,
presentation: Managua, 16 May 2005
18
UNICEF (2010), op cit
of all corporal punishment and all other cruel or degrading punishment of children, in the family
home and all other settings.
“On the basis of the evidence of the harmful effects of corporal punishment on children, adults and
societies, we believe that prohibition of corporal punishment, accompanied by measures to
implement the prohibition and eliminate the use of corporal punishment in practice, is a key strategy
to reduce all forms of violence against children and other violence in societies and to improve the
physical and mental health and other developmental outcomes for children and adults.
“We therefore call on:
all governments to work for the prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment
all organisations working for health to include the issue in their work.”
The statement is endorsed by the International Association for Adolescent Health, the International
Council of Nurses, the International Council of Psychologists, the International Federation of Medical
Students’ Associations, the International Pediatric Association, the International Society for Social
Pediatrics and Child Health, the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, the
International Union of Psychological Science and the World Federation of Public Health Associations.
Corporal punishment and intimate partner violence
Corporal punishment is closely related to intimate partner violence and often coexists with it.19 A
2014 study which used UNICEF data from 25 states found that women who believed that husbands
were justified in hitting their wives were more likely to believe that corporal punishment is
necessary in bringing up children and more likely to report that their child had been violently
punished in the home in the month prior to the survey than women who did not believe that
husbands were justified in hitting their wives.20 Experience of corporal punishment as a child is
associated with an increased risk of involvement in intimate partner violence as an adult as both
perpetrator and victim.21
19
Taylor, C. A. et al (2012), “Use of Spanking for 3-Year-Old Children and Associated Intimate Partner
Aggression or Violence”, Pediatrics 126(3), 415-424
20
Lansford, J. E. et al (2014), “Attitudes Justifying Domestic Violence Predict Endorsement of Corporal
Punishment and Physical and Psychological Aggression towards Children: A Study in 25 Low- and MiddleIncome Countries”, The Journal of Pediatrics, published online 9 January 2014
21
Gershoff, E. T. (2002), op cit; Cast, A. D. et al (2006), “Childhood physical punishment and problem solving in
marriage”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 244-261; Bott, S. et al (2012), Violence Against Women in
Latin America and the Caribbean: A comparative analysis of population-based data from 12 countries,
Washington DC: Pan American Health Organization & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Contreras,
M. et al (2012), Bridges to Adulthood: Understanding the Lifelong Influence of Men's Childhood Experiences of
Violence, Analyzing Data from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey, Washington DC:
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) & Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Promundo
Support and advocacy for prohibition and elimination of all violent
punishment
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children urges organisations in the early
childhood sector to incorporate advocacy for the prohibition and elimination of corporal
punishment into their work on violence against children, early childhood care and education,
children’s health and development and other related topics, for example by:
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using their perspectives to strengthen existing campaigns for prohibition
incorporating advocacy for prohibition of corporal punishment into work to end violence
against children
including work for prohibition in efforts to improve young children’s health and
development
ensuring children’s right to legal protection from all corporal punishment is included in
the promotion of early childhood care and education services
raising awareness about children’s right to legal protection from violent punishment
among sector professionals
The Global Initiative’s objective – the prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment of
children – is supported by UNICEF, UNESCO and many international organisations including:
ActionAid International
Association for Childhood Education International
Better Care Network
Child Helpline International
Defence for Children International
ECPAT International
EveryChild
Global Child Development Group
Human Rights Watch
International Council of Nurses
International Disability Alliance
International Federation of Social Workers
International Federation for Parenting Education
International Foster Care Organisation
International Pediatric Association
International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
International Step by Step Association
Plan International
Right to Education Project
Save the Children
SOS Children’s Villages International
Organisations promoting improved conditions for young children are invited to
join this list by signing up at www.endcorporalpunishment.org.
For a full list of supporting international and national organisations see
www.endcorporalpunishment.org.
This briefing is produced by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, which
promotes the fulfilment of children’s right to legal protection from all corporal punishment.
For further information and advice on any aspect of this briefing, and for technical support on
advocacy for law reform, see www.endcorporalpunishment.org or email
elinor@endcorporalpunishment.org.