Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. Article 1.3 of the Child Custody and Rights of Access Act (1983, effective 1984) states: “A child shall be brought up in the spirit of understanding, security and love. He shall not be subdued, corporally punished or otherwise humiliated. His growth towards independence, responsibility and adulthood shall be encouraged, supported and assisted.” Parents who use corporal punishment are liable to prosecution for assault, including petty assault for children under the age of 15 years, under the Criminal Code. They may also be sued for damages under the Code of Judicial Procedure and the Compensation for Damages Act. The defence of “lawful chastisement” in the Criminal Code, which stated that petty assault was not punishable if committed by parents or others exercising their lawful right to chastise a child, was removed in 1969.

Section 6 of Chapter 2 of the Constitution (1999) states: “Children shall be treated equally and as individuals they shall be allowed to influence matters pertaining to themselves to a degree corresponding to their level of development.” Section 7 protects the dignity of every person and states: “No one shall be ... tortured or otherwise treated in a manner violating human dignity.”

Schools

Corporal punishment has been unlawful in schools since 1872. The prohibition was reinforced in legislation in 1914 and continued in the Act on Primary Schools (1957) and the Act on Comprehensive Schools (1985).

Penal system

Corporal punishment was abolished as a sentence for crime in 1889. It is unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. The Criminal Code, the Code of Judicial Procedure, the Compensation for Damages Act and the Constitution apply (see above).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is unlawful in other institutions and forms of care. The Criminal Code, the Code of Judicial Procedure, the Compensation for Damages Act and the Constitution apply (see above).

Workplace

Corporal punishment is prohibited. The Criminal Code, the Code of Judicial Procedure, the Compensation for Damages Act and the Constitution (see above) apply.

Prevalence research

A nationwide survey of 1,000 people aged 15 to 79, commissioned by the Central Union of Child Welfare and conducted by the research company Taloustutkimus, found that one in four considers physical discipline of children to be acceptable at least in exceptional situations, representing an improvement from approval of corporal punishment by one in three in 2004. But the study found a high prevalence of corporal punishment, with 73% of women and 68% of men reporting that they had sometimes used physical punishment. (Reported in Helsingin Sanomat, International Edition, 28 September 2007)

A 1992 questionnaire survey of 7,400 students aged 15-16 years found that 72% had occasionally experienced mild corporal punishment (pushing and shoving, hair-pulling, slapping, beating with a switch) by their parents. More severe corporal punishment (using other implements, hitting with fist or kicking, threats with weapons) was reported by 8%. (Sariola, H. & Uutela, A., 1992, “The Prevalence and Context of Family Violence Against Children in Finland”, Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 16, pp. 823-832)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“Although the State party was the second State in the world to prohibit all corporal punishment of children in the family in its Child Custody and Rights of Access Act of 1983, the Committee is concerned at the number of cases of violence against children, including sexual abuse in their homes. It also regrets the lack of information on this phenomenon.

“The Committee recommends that the State party consider taking additional measures to prevent and, where this has not been possible, to identify in a timely manner instances of violence against children within families, to intervene at an early stage, and to develop child-friendly programmes and services for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with personnel specially trained to work with children.”
(16 October 2000, CRC/C/15/Add.132, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 39 and 40)

European Committee of Social Rights

The Committee recalls that the situation, which was found to be in conformity with the charter, has not changed. The Child Custody and Right of Access Act (No. 361/1983) provides that a child must not be subdued, corporally punished or otherwise humiliated.
(2007, Conclusions XVIII-1, vol.1)

“The Committee recalls that the Child Custody and Right of Access Act 1984 prohibits the abuse of children and that this includes the corporal punishment of children and other humiliating treatment….”
(1 January 2001, Conclusions XV-2 vol. 1, pages 169-172)

“As regards measures taken to prevent the ill-treatment of children, the report stated that corporal punishment under any circumstances had been prohibited since 1984….”
(1 January 1996, Conclusions XIII-3, pages 386-387)