Dear all,
Some food for further thought ...
WHO's 2016 Global Plan of Action to strengthen the role of the health system within a national multisectoral response to address interpersonal violence, in particular against women and girls, and against children states that violence against children includes child maltreatment perpetrated by adults in positions of trust and authority, which can involve physical abuse (INCLUDING CORPORAL PUNISHMENT), sexual abuse (including incest), and psychological/ emotional abuse and neglect.
The Global Action Plan follows the description of corporal punishment as provided in General Comment no.8 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006), which states that corporal punishment is “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting (‘smacking’, ‘slapping’, ‘spanking’) children, with the hand or with an implement – a whip, stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, etc. But it can also involve, for example, kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears, forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions, burning, scalding or forced ingestion (for example, washing children’s mouths out with soap or forcing them to swallow hot spices)”.
In its General Comment the Committee noted the following:
In rejecting any justification of violence and humiliation as forms of punishment for children, the Committee is not in any sense rejecting the positive concept of discipline. The healthy development of children depends on parents and other adults for necessary guidance and direction, in line with children’s evolving capacities, to assist their growth towards responsible life in society. The Committee recognizes that parenting and caring for children, especially babies and young children, demand frequent physical actions and interventions to protect them. This is quite distinct from the deliberate and punitive use of force to cause some degree of pain, discomfort or humiliation. As adults, we know for ourselves the difference between a protective physical action and a punitive assault; it is no more difficult to make a distinction in relation to actions involving children. The law in all States, explicitly or implicitly, allows for the use of non-punitive and necessary force to protect people.
In addition, in responding to the argument of certain States during the examination of their reports that some level of “reasonable” or “moderate” corporal punishment can be justified as in the “best interests” of the child, the Committee stated that interpretation of a child’s best interests must be consistent with the whole Convention, including the obligation to protect children from all forms of violence and the requirement to give due weight to the child’s views; and that it cannot be used to justify practices, including corporal punishment and other forms of cruel or degrading punishment, which conflict with the child’s human dignity and right to physical integrity.
In its 2016 Fact Sheet on Child Maltreatment, WHO noted that a number of characteristics of communities and societies may increase the risk of child maltreatment, and which includes [...] social and cultural norms that promote or glorify violence towards others, support the use of corporal punishment, demand rigid gender roles, or diminish the status of the child in parent–child relationships.
Research has found children who are warmly and consistently parented are less likely to develop depression, get addicted to drugs and alcohol, and engage in risky sex. They are also less likely to get involved in crime and violence. Dr Catherine Ward, a child psychology expert and a founder of the WHO- and UNICEF-backed Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) programme, says, “we are seeing parents using harsh parenting often because they don’t know alternatives. They want to do the right thing. But parents who use harsh discipline can affect children’s mental health badly, often leading to depression and problems around the child’s conduct, including risky behaviour ranging from substance abuse and unsafe sex to injuries associated with riding motorcycles without helmets.”
For those who wish to know more about the programme: https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/child/plh/en/
And for some of the research backing up the programme: https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/child/plh_timeli...
Best,
Marcus Stahlhofer
CHIFA profile: Marcus M Stahlhofer is Adviser, Child and Adolescent Rights, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, World Health Organization, Geneva. www.who.int/childadolescenthealth/en stahlhoferm AT who.int
