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Search results for: smacking

Welsh Committee Receives Over 600 Responses to its Consultation on Smacking

12 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by Natasha in Corporal Punishment, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

Over 600 written responses were submitted to a consultation launched by the Welsh Assembly’s Children, Young People and Education Committee on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill.

The Bill aims “to abolish the common law defence of reasonable punishment so it is no longer available in Wales to parents or those acting in loco parentis as a defence to assault or battery against a child.”

If enacted, the legislation would remove the right of parents in Wales in both criminal and civil law to claim that smacking a child is a reasonable form of punishment.

The Committee is holding its final session on the Bill today and is expected to publish its report by 2nd August.

The move represents a shift in thinking around the world on smacking, as a growing body of research emerges showing that hitting a child can be hugely detrimental to their development.

Currently 54 countries have banned corporal punishment in all settings, including the family home.

The bill if ratified into law is highly unlikely to see swathes of parents being sent to jail. To date we have not come across any cases of parents being sent to prison for smacking their children in jurisdictions where smacking in the home is banned.

Instead, these provisions send out a message that children deserve the same rights in law that adults – and animals – enjoy, and allow us to access and harness better alternatives for setting boundaries within parenting.

Within the UK, Ireland was the first state to implement legislation banning smacking (a term we dislike because it downplays child assault and battery), which it did in 2015.

Scotland has also promised to incorporate similar legislation. The session held by the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee on 6th June offers some very useful information while looking at the possibility of repealing the criminal defence to ‘justifiable assault’ of a child.

The Lord Advocate The Rt Hon. James Wolffe, QC., and Anne Marie Hicks, the National Procurator Fiscal for Domestic Abuse took part in the session. Hicks’ department made the news last month after a man from Glasgow became the first person to be convicted under new Scottish domestic abuse legislation which came into force on 1st April.

On June 6, the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee heard from the Lord Advocate and the  National Procurator Fiscal for Domestic Abuse. They addressed questions from the Committee regarding prosecutorial policies in light of the possible repeal of the criminal defence to ‘justifiable assault’ of a child.  Their answers are very informative and useful for any common law countries considering law reform.

England continues to ignore repeated calls for legislation banning the defence of reasonable chastisement of children in the home.

Very many thanks to Professor Joan Durrant and the Global Initiative for sharing the development with Researching Reform.

MapSmacking

Map source: Global Initiative To End All Corporate Punishment Of Children

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Smacking is Lazy Parenting – And It Should Be Against The Law

06 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Natasha in child welfare, Children

≈ 24 Comments

France’s recent run in with the Council of Europe, on their smacking policy has put corporal punishment back in the lime light, but a zero tolerance policy on hitting our children must be recognised not only as a natural evolution of our laws against assault, but as a much-needed gatekeeper to stem violent crimes against children world-wide.

The anti-smacking movement is an unpopular one. Governments around the world continue to shuffle their feet in fear of upsetting lazy parents who use language like ‘tap’ and ‘pat’ when they hit their children, and tell anyone who’ll listen that violence is a necessary part of everyday parenting. Previously, peers in the House of Lords debated this issue, framing it as a parental rights versus children’s rights dilemma. 

Both the French and the British government have a lot to answer for. In a TV debate this week, Thierry Vidor, of the family association Familles de France, told viewers that smacking was an “act of love”. Closer to home, Lord Lester suggested that parents should not be “criminalised for administering a light smack because it’s technically a battery.” That’s like saying a rapist should be let off because his victim was “a little precious” about her vagina.

Not everyone is making excuses for the smacking brigade. A study carried out by researchers from the University of Manitoba and McMaster University in Canada found that harsh physical punishment could lead to mental illness later on in life. Given that most children who are hit are unable to distinguish the many complex reasons why they’re being physically attacked,  and are, most of the time, unable to stop attacks against them, that some should suffer from such disorders is a logical deduction. And whilst some studies claim that smacking does not affect children if they feel loved, such findings tacitly ignore the reality that a relationship which involves violence is, regardless of affection shown after the attack, an unhealthy space for a child to grow up in.

Whilst France refuses to implement an outright ban on smacking, fearful of the statistical majority of parents in the country who oppose a ban outright,  our own laws are still too weak. Currently, the 2004 Children’s Act allows the physical punishment of children, as long as the act leaves no “bruising, swelling, cuts, grazes or scratches”. This, of course, does not address the deeper issue of emotional harm, which can lead to long term mental health problems. Nor does it take into account the example physical violence in the home sets.  And yet, all forms of physical punishment, including smacking, are prohibited in full-time independent schools, in children’s homes, in local authority foster homes and Early Years provision. So why are parents still allowed to physically punish their children?

We already know smacking is a gateway to further abuse. A light tap today, a rollicking thump tomorrow, once the tap no longer wields its intimidating sting. We know too, that it is an ineffective form of parenting, and says more about the parent’s presence of mind than it does the child’s. Despite all of the evidence showing us that smacking is a high-risk activity, parents still feel justified in using this form of corporal punishment. In a 2006 survey, 80% of the UK population said they believed in smacking and 73% said that they believed that any ban would cause a deterioration in children‟s
behaviour.  And they are not alone.

David Lammy MP, or as we like to call him, David Smack Me MP, was busy telling anyone who would listen that smacking children was “necessary and right”, and rather oddly, that the lack of corporal punishment amongst working class families led in part to the Summer Riots.  We expect that kind of stupidity from a politician, but when our justice minister Chris Grayling proudly tells the nation that he smacked his children growing up, and that it “sent out a message”, it’s no longer a laughing matter. It goes to the heart of our culture, and how we value children in society.

A ban on smacking does not have to lead to automatic prison time. As a society trying to make its way to civilisation, there should be a vast array of solutions at hand to deal with slap-happy parents, and prison should be a last resort. There is a distinction to be made between those parents who occasionally lose control and those who live to exert it. In most cases, the law would serve as a reminder that smacking is culturally unacceptable. For a small few, that prison is inevitable.

Making smacking illegal sends out a message. It ensures that children are accorded the same respect as adults in the eyes of the law. Crossbench peer Baroness Finlay of Llandaff points out that at least 50% of all children, those under 18, are hit once a week. When we have laws in place which make touching another adult in a way we’re not comfortable with a crime, how is it that our law still refuses to recognise that children are vulnerable members of our society, whose physical security we should be prioritising, not procrastinating over? Why should it be okay for a parent to a hit a child, when it is not okay for an adult to hit another adult? Does parental love really cover a multitude of sins, or is it just a convenient byline for our politicians too afraid to alienate its voters?

A ban on smacking is essential, not only for our children’s safe and healthy development, but for our development as a species. A ban on smacking would re-educate society. It is the right and necessary thing to do.

We’ve written about smacking before – check out our other posts and our petitions, here.

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Channel 4 Holds Debate on Smacking

28 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by Natasha in Children

≈ 39 Comments

Yesterday, Maggie Atkinson, the Children’s Commissioner, made a statement to the Independent that smacking should be illegal and today, Channel 4 has decided to host a debate on the moral, social and political issues surrounding the topic of smacking children. You can get involved right now on Twitter – just tweet @Channel4News and use the hash tag #C4News.

Our views on smacking are very clear. We don’t condone physical assault of any kind amongst adults and to do so where children are concerned is not only horribly confusing for children but is deeply contradictory. And as no situation actually demands physical punishment, we consider it totally unnecessary and as the scientific data shows clearly, hugely detrimental to some children’s development.

However, we are concerned with the possibility that a ban on smacking may lead to imprisonment. Quite how the currently hypothetical process of disciplining parents who smack their children might work is not yet clear, but given that this is a sensitive area with often little or no adequate support or examination of each individual case, it could open up a flood gate of unjustified forced adoptions.

Dr Atkinson is not going to be actively pursuing a ban on smacking for the time being, but the debate is sure to bring different perspectives to the table.

Previous articles on smacking from our blog can be found below:

November 2013

  • Public outcry over Amazon book which advocates corporal punishment

February 2013 :

  • Chris Grayling advocates smacking children
  • Charities’ responses to Grayling’s remarks on smacking
  • Our petitions on smacking 

January 2012

  • David Smack Me MP advocates smacking, Council of Europe wants an outright ban

Big thank you to Rapella, polymath extraordinaire, for alerting us to this debate.

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Twitter Responses from Children’s Charities on Chris Grayling MP’s Smacking Policy

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by Natasha in Children, Family Law

≈ 2 Comments

Here at Researching Reform we are anti smacking and in favour of removing the current double standard in law which makes it illegal for adults to hit one another, but not for an adult to hit a child, and our latest piece on Chris Grayling’s remarks about the benefits of smacking have left us, well, gob smacked.

You can see the article we wrote here and the many and varied responses we received from readers of the blog who took the time to comment. But we wanted to  hear from Children’s charities too, to find out what they thought about Chris Grayling’s remarks. To date, the responses have been diplomatic – no charity has yet mentioned Chris Grayling directly, but they are making a stand, slowly but surely against smacking.

Here are the replies we have received so far from Children’s charities and members of staff both past and present from some of these organisations, who very generously responded to our tweet “What do you guys think about Chris Grayling’s sentiments on smacking?”

R1

 

(There is a link on Fatima Ayad’s tweet, which you can access here. Fatima works at the press office for the NSPCC).

 

 

 

R2

 

(There is a link on The Children’s Society Tweet, which you can access here).

We will add more responses if and when we get them…..

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In The News

29 Tuesday Jun 2021

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ Leave a comment

The latst child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

  • Covid: School isolation rules could end in autumn
  • ‘It is damaging for a young person’: Parents call for weighing children at school to be scrapped
  • Smacking children increases bad behaviour, study finds

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The Buzz

05 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ Leave a comment

It’s been a little busy at Researching Reform, so we apologise for not bringing you more in-depth news this week.

In the meantime, we’re sharing need-to-know developments, from the government’s Care Review to changes in the family courts:

  • CARE REVIEW TO BE LAUNCHED ‘IMMINENTLY’, CHILDREN’S MINISTER SAYS
  • The President of the Family Division Working Group on Medical Experts in the Family Courts – Final Report
  • Private law children and Family Law Act 1996 cases must now be recorded in e-files
  • New smacking ban becomes law in Scotland on Saturday

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The Buzz

28 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform, The Buzz

≈ 1 Comment

The latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

  • Wales to bring in smacking ban after assembly vote
  • Former parliamentary candidate given suspended sentence for child sexual abuse photos
  • Children around UK at risk from indoor air pollution, report warns

Buzz

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Bill to End Corporal Punishment of Children Advances in Wales

10 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, Corporal Punishment, Researching Reform

≈ 4 Comments

A bill currently making its way through the Welsh Assembly, which removes the right to hit a child, has reached the third stage of its journey.

Stage 3 involves a detailed look at the legislation, by every member of the Assembly in Plenary, as well as proposed amendments to the law. Members have five working days before the meeting takes place to table any amendments they would like to add.

The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill abolishes the common law defence of reasonable punishment (chastisement), which means that once ratified, parents or those acting in loco parentis will no longer be able to use this as a defence upon being charged with the assault or battery of a child.

The Bill’s page on the National Assembly of Wales’ website outlines the law’s purpose and background:

“The Bill is intended to support children’s rights by prohibiting the use of physical punishment, through removal of this defence. The intended effect of the Bill, together with an awareness-raising campaign and support for parents, is to bring about a further reduction in the use and tolerance of the physical punishment of children in Wales.”

Britain is now the only country in the UK which has failed to consider legislation banning the smacking of children in a home setting.

Ireland was the first state to ratify legislation banning smacking (a term we would like to see abolished too, because it downplays child assault and battery), which it did in 2015.

Scotland has promised to incorporate similar legislation, and held its own Stage 3 meeting on October 3, in which the Scottish Parliament looked at tabled amendments to its Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill. The meeting is very much worth a watch for the insightful comments around the Bill’s shortcomings as it stands in draft form.

Currently, 58 countries around the world have placed a total ban on corporal punishment in the home.

British politicians have routinely ignored calls by charities and groups like Researching Reform to make all forms of child assault illegal, with several ministers seemingly in favour of the practice. Both David Lammy MP and former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling have openly admitted to hitting their children and standing by corporal punishment as an effective way of raising children.

But established research contradicts that view.

The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill is scheduled to have its Stage 3 meeting on Tuesday 21 January 2020 and can be watched on Senedd TV.

Many thanks to Professor Joan Durrant for sharing this development.

R1

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In The News

02 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by Natasha in News, Researching Reform

≈ 1 Comment

The latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

  • Nearly 600,000 children affected by two-child limit on benefits
  • Hunger in summer: ‘More children need help with food this summer’
  • Police and teachers back Welsh anti-smacking bill

boy-reading-newspaper-new-001

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In The News

29 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by Natasha in News, Researching Reform

≈ 1 Comment

The child welfare stories that should be right on your radar:

  • Scotland backs general principles of Bill to ban smacking
  • Campaign in Scotland demands mandatory jail terms for anyone convicted of sexual offences involving a child
  • Single parent adoptions reach record high in the UK

boy-reading-newspaper-new-001

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