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.

There appears to be no confirmation in legislation of a right of parents and others to punish or correct a child. The near universal acceptance of a certain degree of violence in childrearing necessitates clarity in law that no degree of corporal punishment is acceptable or lawful. All legal defences should be repealed and explicit prohibition of all corporal punishment should be enacted in relation to parents and all those with parental authority.

Explicit prohibition should be enacted in relation to all education settings, 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. According to the second to fourth state party report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, dated 2009 (page 36), the provision in the Civil Code (1884) for parents to “moderately correct their child in the latter’s mistakes” has been repealed. However, there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment and provisions against violence and abuse in the Penal Code (1993) are not interpreted as prohibiting corporal punishment of children. In 2010 a domestic violence bill was under discussion but we have no details of its provisions.

Schools

Corporal punishment is reportedly unlawful in schools, but we have no details of applicable legislation.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. The Constitution prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, and there is no provision for judicial punishment in the Penal Code.

Corporal punishment is reportedly prohibited as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions, but we have been unable to confirm this.

Alternative care

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

Prevalence research

A UNICEF report published in 2010 states that 82% of children aged 2-14 experienced violent discipline (physical punishment and/or psychological aggression) in 2005-2006. Nearly three quarters experienced physical punishment, while a smaller percentage (25%) of mothers and caregivers thought that physical punishment was necessary in childrearing, and non-violent discipline was also very widely used: experienced by 93% of children. Three children in ten experienced severe physical punishment (being hit or slapped on the face, head or ears or being hit over and over with an implement) and 68% experienced psychological aggression (being shouted at, yelled at, screamed at or insulted). Children aged 5-9 were slightly more likely to experience violent discipline than those of other ages: 85% of children aged 5-9 compared to 76% of children aged 2-4 and 83% of children aged 10-14. Children living in larger households were more likely to experience violent discipline: 83% of children in households of 6 or more people compared to 70% of children in households of 2-3 people. The statistics also suggest that children with more siblings are more likely to experience violent discipline in most countries involved in the study (p. 72). No significant differences in children’s experience of violent discipline were found according to sex, level of education of adults in the household or engagement in child labour. (UNICEF, 2010, Child Disciplinary Practices at Home: Evidence from a Range of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, NY: UNICEF)

According to statistics from UNICEF on violence in the family, in 2005-2006 more than half (52%) of girls and women aged 15-49 thought that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances. (UNICEF, 2009, Progress for Children: A report card on child protection, NY: UNICEF)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee also welcomes: … the prohibition, under law, of corporal punishment in the family and schools and other contexts.

“The Committee is concerned that:

b) … corporal punishment is widely practiced in the family.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

c) … combat the practice of corporal punishment of children in the family, including through the use of information campaigns on the harm it can cause and on the importance of alternative measures of discipline.”

(13 June 2002, CRC/C/15/Add.177, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 4, 30 and 31)

Universal Periodic Review

Guinea Bissau was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2010. No recommendations were made concerning corporal punishment of children. Examination in the second cycle is scheduled for 2015.