Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home.

Children are protected from some violence and abuse under the Family Law (1999), the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child (1996, amended 2003), the Domestic Violence Act (2004, in force 2005), the Law on Crime Prevention (1997) and the Criminal Code (amended 2002), which stipulates “that any form of exploitation or abuse and all forms of physical and mental violence against children shall be considered as crime”, including “systematic beating and inflicting of physical pain”, but this does not apply to all corporal punishment.

As at May 2007, the government is considering prohibition.

Schools

Corporal punishment in education settings is prohibited by the Education Law Amendments passed by a Resolution of parliament in December 2006. A code of conduct for teachers is to be introduced which holds school managers and teachers responsible for ensuring respect for the dignity and worth of students, and mechanisms to monitor and regulate breaches of the code will be established. Previously, there was no explicit prohibition in legislation of corporal punishment in schools, and legal protection from physical and mental violence was given only by the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child and the Criminal Code.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. It is not a permitted punishment under the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

There is no explicit prohibition in legislation of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions, though the provisions against violence in the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child and in the Criminal Code apply. Other applicable legislation includes the Law on Execution of Decisions and Custody of Suspects and Convicts.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in other institutions and forms of childcare. The provisions against violence in the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child and in the Criminal Code apply. Other applicable legislation includes the Law on Detention of Unsupervised Children (1997).

Workplace

No information.

Prevalence research

Large scale comparative research into the views and experiences of 3,322 children and 1,000 adults in 8 countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Viet Nam) was carried out by Save the Children in 2005. The research in Mongolia involved 607 children from urban, semi-urban and rural areas, and 40 adults. Methods used included research diaries, drawings, body maps, attitude survey, sentence completion, and discussions. Physical punishments mentioned by children in Mongolia included slapping, hitting with implements, forcing to the ground, bearing with a rubber baton, pinching, grabbing, pulling hair, scratching. Children in institutions in Mongolia mentioned the following punishments: adults stomping on their stomachs, being forced to the ground, having to stand in the hot sun, being hit with a rubber baton. The prevalence of punishment was given as direct assault (hitting) for children aged 10-13 years 45.6%, other direct assault 5%, indirect assault 9%, deliberate neglect 1.2, verbal attack 33.8%. Of those from urban areas who were hit, 70.4% were hit with an implement, 21.4% were slapped with the hand, 8.2% kicked. The study included 55 children in institutions, with 25% reporting punishments such as being beaten with a rubber truncheon and having to maintain uncomfortable positions for long periods of time. Reasons for punishment were given mainly as failure of behaviour (30% home, 22% school) and failure of obedience (60% home, 46% school). (Beazley, H., S. Bessell, et al., 2006, What Children Say: Results of comparative research on the physical and emotional punishment of children in Southeast Asia and Pacific, 2005, Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden)

In a study reported in 2003, a survey found that  89% of parents and 74% of children agreed that violence is practised against children in families. (Sandvik-Nylund, 2003, Regional Assessment: Violence against children in East Asia and the Pacific region, Bangkok: UNICEF. Cited in Nogami, N., 2005, Discipline and punishment of children: a rights-based review of laws. attitudes and practices in East Asia and the Pacific - Save the Children Sweden Southeast Asia and the Pacific, regional submission to the UN Secretary General's Global Study on Violence against Children, Stockholm, Save the Children Sweden)

A comparative study of 10,073 children aged 9-17 years across East Asia and the Pacific by UNICEF and Research International Asia (Thailand) in 2001 found that 7% of those surveyed in Mongolia reported having been beaten by their parents. The reason for children finding it difficult to talk to teachers was given by 9% of the children as because the teachers “beat them”. (UNICEF, 2001, Speaking Out! Voices of Children and Adolescents in East Asia and the Pacific)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

“The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment of children remains socially acceptable in Mongolia and it is still practised in families and also in places where it has been formally prohibited, such as schools and other institutions. It further notes with concern that Mongolian legislation does not expressly prohibit corporal punishment in the family.

“The Committee urges the State party to prevent and combat the practice of corporal punishment of children in the family, in schools and other institutions and to explicitly prohibit by law corporal punishment in the family. The Committee recommends that the State party introduce public education and awareness-raising campaigns with the involvement of children on alternative non-violent forms of discipline in order to change public attitudes about corporal punishment and to strengthen its cooperation with the non-governmental institutions in this respect.”
(21 September 2005, CRC/C/15/Add.263, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 29 and 30)

“The Committee is concerned that appropriate measures have not yet been taken to prevent and combat effectively ill-treatment of children within the family and about insufficient information existing on this matter….

“In the light of article 19 of the Convention, the Committee further recommends that the Government take all appropriate measures, including legislative ones, to combat ill-treatment within the family and sexual abuse of children. It suggests, inter alia, that the authorities gather information and initiate a comprehensive study to improve understanding of the nature and scope of the problem and set up social programmes to prevent all types of child abuse.”
(13 February 1996, CRC/C/15/Add.48, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 16 and 28)