Would you slap your child? The question seems trivial and the answer obvious, in an era that has moved from educational ‘belts’ to ‘friendly parents’, figures which however, for different reasons, have created more than one problem for children. Certainly in recent decades the parent-child relationship has changed a lot, as has the concept of child abuse, so much so that from 1979 onwards many countries have banned corporal punishment in the home. It would therefore seem that slaps and wooden spoons are now frowned upon and despised, at least on a social if not also legal level.
Yet, the answer to our question is not so obvious, as demonstrated by an online survey by The Mirror which, although devoid of statistical value, still tells something of the common feeling. And what it tells us is that, at the time of writing, the question ‘Do you agree that corporal punishment should be prohibited by law?‘ 72% responded with a resounding ‘No’. The yes comes from 25% of the respondents (including the writer), 3% did not express themselves.
For an overwhelming majority, therefore, raising one’s hands on one’s children is legitimate. Perhaps because many consider them a sort of personal property (who in a moment of anger hasn’t said ‘I created you, I’ll destroy you’, even if a slap didn’t follow?) and above all because it is thought that a slap, a spanking or similar helps to underline and reinforce authority and discipline.
A thought that we could define as global and certainly not confined to the United Kingdom.
Physical violence against children leads to more violence and discomfort
Instead, many studies have demonstrated and demonstrate that with violence the child only learns fear, aggression and humiliation. In addition to determining a set of other consequences: it worsens the risk of mental problems, of doing poorly in school and of leaving school early, but also exposes one to a greater probability of being physically attacked or abused, and, last but not least, of developing aggressiveness and antisocial.
This was also confirmed in recent days by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the professional body of paediatricians in the United Kingdom, which defined corporal punishment as “a complete violation of the rights of children”, who in their position of vulnerability and subordination they cannot defend their rights.
The College’s intervention fits into a context like that of the United Kingdom, where Scotland and Wales have banned slapping by law, and England and Northern Ireland have not. In fact, the Children Act 2004 provides that it is illegal for a parent or guardian to slap their child, except when it is considered a “reasonable punishment”.
And it is precisely on the concept of ‘reasonable’ that the game is played. Because it is interpretable and vague enough to leave a certain freedom of action, in this case to raise your hands, on your child. Obviously for those who believe that this is ‘reasonable’ and educational and that there is no other way of explaining things.
What is corporal punishment
For the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Corporal punishment occurs when a parent or guardian uses physical force on a child/youth in the home “for the purpose of inflicting some level of pain or distress, no matter how slight.” For example, spanking, slaps, kicks, shoves, pinches, as well as the use of objects such as belts, slippers, sticks, wooden spoons, etc. are included in the case study. But practices such as pulling hair or ears, forcing the child to remain in uncomfortable positions, giving him burns, rinsing his mouth with soap, forcing him to ingest something (for example, hot spices) also include practices.
For theUN it’s about degrading practices to which are added those that, although not physical, are nevertheless cruel, such as humiliating, belittling, derisive or threatening punishments. The Committee therefore recommends eliminating both of them, physical and psychological, not only to protect the rights of the little ones, but also with a view to prevent all forms of violence in society.
The same request comes fromUNESCOfor which Corporal punishment is a violation of human rights and therefore they must be prohibited at school, at home and in institutions as a form of discipline. As regards theWHOFinally, raising your hands on children is a form of physical abuse.
A vast problem: current situation and prospects
It is not a problem limited to a few cases of hardship: throughout the world, Save the Children states, “every year approximately 4 out of 5 minors between the ages of 2 and 14 suffer corporal punishment in the domestic context”. We are talking about millions of children. The peculiarity of the phenomenon is that, as also underlined by the UN, it concerns any social class and regardless of income, education and ethnicity.
Culture and religion can play a role in making corporal punishment considered normal, even by children themselves, and this is reflected in the presence or lack of legislation that expressly prohibits it. Above all because they are very often imposed in the context of a educational process and therefore they pass as legitimate, an element that Western and developing countries have in common.
The global ban on corporal punishment is one of the Sustainable Development Goals decided in 2015 with a deadline of 2030. But the progress, underlined Save the Children on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violent Education of April 30, “have been slow”: only two countries have banned such practices each year. Currently, only 66 out of 193 states have introduced the ban in all contexts. About half of richer countries do not have a full legal ban, compared with about 70% of middle-income countries and 90% of low-income countries that do. As a result, “only 15% of the approximately 320 million children are fully protected by law.”
In summary, Save the Children reports, at the current rate it will take 60 years to achieve a global ban on corporal punishment by 2030.
To map progress, Save the Children Sweden (Sweden was the first country to ban corporal punishment in all contexts) has created a map showing the countries that guarantee complete punishment in this sense by law.
The countries not present on the map have not yet implemented this type of ban. The absence of Italy stands out.
In Italy
In fact, in our country corporal punishment is prohibited at school and by the penitentiary system, but they are not in the domestic context. We are getting there through the courts, through sentences, the first of which was issued by the Court of Cassation in 1996. The sentences have gradually established that the concept of child abuse has changed a lot over the decades, as have those of mistreatment and of abuse of the means of correction. For example, the Court of Cassation included us among the latter in 2017 the use of a carpet beater or rolling pintraditionally used on children by parents to reinforce their authority.
The jurisprudence is therefore gradually affirming that it is no longer considered lawful “the use of physical or mental violence, even if distortedly aimed at purposes deemed educational”also because it does not lead to the result we say we want to achieve, i.e. education.
And also because the minor is now seen and to be seen how a person who holds rights and no longer, as in the past, a simple object of protection or disposal by adults.
