Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home.

Children have limited protection from violence and abuse under provisions against negligence, brutality, violence and abuse in the Criminal Code (articles 285, 326, 332 and 334) and the law “sur la traite des personnes” (2003). Article 288 of the Criminal Code prohibits all forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of children. A child protection law came into force in December 2005 – Ordonnance no. 2005-015 portant protection penale de l’enfant. As at August 2005, there a draft Penal Code and a draft Code of Criminal Procedure for minors were under discussion. The Personal Status Code (2001) and the law on compulsory primary education (2001) contain various provisions on parental responsibility. Articles 121 and 122 of the Personal Status Code defines childcare and describes the conditions in which it must be provided.

Schools

A ministerial order concerning the internal regulations of schools forbids the use of corporal punishment, but there is no explicit prohibition in law.

Penal system

We have been unable to confirm the legal status of corporal punishment as a sentence for crime for persons under the age of 18 years. According to the preamble to the Constitution (1991), Islam is “the sole source of law”, and article 13 states: “(2) No one may be prosecuted, arrested, detained, or punished except in cases determined by the law and according to the formalities which it prescribes”. Article 61 of the Criminal Code allows for a minor below the age of 16 years to be acquitted if he or she is considered to have acted without discernment, and otherwise allows for imprisonment; article 288 prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It would seem that young persons over the age of 16 years may be sentenced as adults, including hadd punishments under Islamic law, but we have been unable to confirm this.

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions, although article 13 of the Constitution states: “(4) All forms of moral or physical violence shall be proscribed”, the Criminal Code prohibits assault and acts of brutality perpetrated by officials (articles 124 and 128), and Decree No. 2003-1524 (2003) on the structural regulations of rehabilitation centres for children in conflict with the law contains provisions on the rights of the child.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in other institutions and forms of childcare. The protections against violence in the Criminal Code and the law “sur la traite des personnes” (see above) apply.

Workplace

We have been unable to ascertain the legality of corporal punishment of children in situations of employment. Articles 60-62 of the 2005 Ordonnance (see above) cover children in work but we have no further details.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment of children is widely practised in the family. It further notes that it is not expressly banned in schools and institutions.

“In light of articles 3, 19, and 28 (2) of the Convention, the Committee encourages the State party to:

1. develop measures to raise awareness on the harmful effects of corporal punishment and engage in the promotion of alternative forms of discipline in families to be administered in a manner consistent with the child’s dignity and in conformity with the Convention; and
2. explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in the family, in schools and in other institutions.”

(6 November 2001, CRC/C/15/Add.159, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 29 and 30 (a and b))

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

“The Committee expresses concern about the lack of implementation of the legislation, as well as the lack of policies and programmes, to address violence against women. The Committee is particularly concerned about occurrences of domestic violence, rape, including marital rape, and all forms of sexual abuse of women, and about the persistence of patriarchal attitudes that consider the physical chastisement of family members, including women, acceptable.… The Committee further expresses concern about the lack of information and data in the report on the prevalence of different forms of violence against women.

“The Committee urges the State party to place the highest priority on implementing a comprehensive approach to address all forms of violence against women. It encourages the State party to make full use of the Committee’s general recommendation 19 in such efforts and of the Secretary- General’s in-depth study on all forms of violence against women. It urges the State party to raise public awareness through media and education programmes that all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence and forced feeding of girls, are unacceptable. The Committee calls upon the State party to train the judiciary, law enforcement officials, legal professionals, social workers and health providers with respect to violence against women so as to ensure that the perpetrators of violence against women are effectively prosecuted and punished with the required seriousness and speed and that effective and gender-sensitive support is provided to victims. It calls on the State party to enhance victims’ access to legal redress and to establish support measures for victims of violence against women, including shelters and legal, medical and psychological support. The Committee requests the State party to provide information in its next report on the laws, policies and programmes in place to deal with all forms of violence against women and on the impact of such measures, as well as statistical data and trends concerning the prevalence of various forms of such violence.”
(1 June 2007, CEDAW/C/MRT/CO/1, Advanced Unedited Version, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 29 and 30)