New research shows one in four Australians think physical punishment is necessary to properly raise children. And one in two parents (across all age groups) reported smacking their children.
Extensive evidence shows the harms of spanking, and 65 other countries or states worldwide have already banned it. Why has Canada not done the same by repealing Section 43 of the Criminal Code?
There is now a strong body of evidence showing a link between corporal punishment as a child and later involvement in family violence, either as a victim or perpetrator.
Jessica Taft, University of California, Santa Cruz
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is empowering children around the world by encouraging them to see themselves as important and valuable members of society.
Lucy Sorensen, University at Albany, State University of New York; Charmaine N. Willis, University at Albany, State University of New York; Melissa L Breger, Albany Law School et Victor Asal, University at Albany, State University of New York
While more and more countries have moved to ban corporal punishment in schools, certain types of nations have been slower than others to outlaw the practice. A recent analysis seeks to explain why.
Until Canadians challenge the normalization of violence against children, we will continue to support, or at least tacitly condone, something that by all accounts is harmful.
A groundbreaking High Court ruling outlawing the spanking of children in South Africa has outraged some Christian bodies that claim parents are entitled to hit their children in a “godly way”.
Police in schools are being asked to deal with a range of issues, such as being a mental health counselor for a traumatized child. It is unfair to the police and can be harmful for children.
Senator Ted Cruz recently stated that he spanks his five-year-old daughter for lying. Spanking kids can cause tremendous damage to kids’ mental health – even if it is an occasional light rap.
Academic Director/ Clinical Ethicist, Children’s Bioethics Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital, and Associate Professor in Health Ethics at the Centre for Health and Society, The University of Melbourne
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine; Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Psychiatric Times., Tufts University