Lancet CAH: The strange endurance of corporal punishment of children

23 January, 2023

Citation and extracts below.

CITATION: The strange endurance of corporal punishment

Aaron van Dorn

The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health

Published: January 16, 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(23)00019-6

'Corporal punishment of children is an issue that transcends cultures and remains extremely loaded, touching on difficult questions of children's autonomy, parental rights and responsibilities, and societal interests. Conversations around the need to discipline children, and the appropriate means and methods of doing so, delve almost immediately into deep cultural and emotional waters. And when questions extend to how organisations outside the home should approach disciplining children, the issues become even murkier. Yet, for a cultural practice that remains ubiquitous, research into the effects of corporal punishment is almost entirely uniform in its agreement that the practice does not work and has enduring negative effects on children. By some measures, 80% of children annually receive some form of corporal punishment from their parents, despite the overwhelming evidence that it is at best ineffective, and probably actively harmful...

Regarding the legal status of corporal punishment in schools, the USA, along with Australia and South Korea, are outliers among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Corporal punishment in schools is de jure banned in 128 countries. Parental use of corporal punishment is legal in 149 countries globally. Even in countries where corporal punishment in schools is banned, it often continues to flourish...

A 2022 report by Human Rights Watch looked at the adherence within US states to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty that the USA is the only member of the UN not to have ratified...

Parenting is a stressful job, and in many places, there is a real lack of support to allow parents to make effective, rational decisions when children misbehave. Stress, financial and time-based considerations, lack of support, and factors such as substance use can all impact how a parent treats their child. Personal history of corporal punishment can also have an effect on decisions regarding one's own children, with many people taking an attitude of “Well, my mom hit me and I turned out fine”. The conclusions of research on the effectiveness and impacts of corporal punishment are stark, and enabling parents and organisations that deal with children to have the space and resources to treat children in a loving and supportive manner, without resorting to physical abuse, should be a key priority for all societies.'

Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator

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