Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home, schools, penal institutions and alternative care settings.

We have been unable to establish whether or not legislation confirms a right of parents and others with parental authority to administer physical punishment, but legal provisions against violence are not interpreted as prohibiting all corporal punishment in childrearing. The near universal acceptance of corporal punishment in “disciplining” children necessitates a clear statement in law that all corporal punishment, however “light”, is prohibited.

Explicit prohibition should be enacted of corporal punishment in all schools, public and private, all institutions accommodating children in conflict with the law, and all alternative care settings, including public and private day care, residential institutions, foster care, etc.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home. Provisions against violence and abuse in the Family Code, the Penal Code (1886), Decree No. 58 (1982) and the Constitution (2010) are not interpreted as prohibiting corporal punishment in childrearing.

Schools

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in schools.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime under the Criminal Code, the Court for Minors Act (1996) and the Code of Procedure for the Court for Minors, which make no provision for judicial corporal punishment. The Constitution prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of every citizen.

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in alternative care settings.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“While the Committee notes that corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for a crime, it is concerned that corporal punishment remains lawful in the home and that there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in schools, in alternative care settings and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions.

“The Committee recommends that the State party explicitly prohibit by law all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, in all settings, including in the family, schools, alternative childcare and places of detention for juveniles, and implement those laws effectively.  It also recommends that the State party carry out awareness raising campaigns focusing on parents, teachers and the general public on the eradication of corporal punishment and the promotion of alternative forms of discipline in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and in accordance with the Convention, especially article 19 and 28, paragraph 2, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 8 on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (CRC/C/GC/8, 2006).”
(1 October 2010, CRC/C/AGO/CO/2-4 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on second to fourth report, paras. 36 and 37)

“The Committee is concerned at the common use of corporal punishment in families and in schools and other institutions for children.

“The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to enforce the ban on corporal punishment in schools and other institutions; to prohibit the use of violence against children, including corporal punishment, by parents and other caregivers; and to undertake campaigns to educate families, teachers, and other professionals working with and for children on alternative ways of disciplining children.

“The Committee is concerned about the growing cases of abuse and violence against children, including sexual abuse in their homes, in schools and in other institutions.

“The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen current efforts to address the problem of child abuse, including by ensuring that:

b) public education campaigns about the negative consequences of ill-treatment and preventive programmes, including family development programmes, promoting positive, non-violent forms of discipline are conducted….”
(3 November 2004, CRC/C/15/Add.246, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 32, 33, 36 and 37)