Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. In March 2007, article 1:247 of the Civil Code, on parental authority, was amended to state (unofficial translation): “(1) Parental authority includes the duty and the right of the parent to care for and raise his or her minor child. (2) Caring for and raising one’s child includes the care and the responsibility for the emotional and physical wellbeing of the child and for his or her safety as well as for the promotion of the development of his or her personality. In the care and upbringing of the child the parents will not use emotional or physical violence or any other humiliating treatment.” Article 1:248 applies article 1:247 to other persons acting in loco parentis.

A Government Communication Plan to inform parents and the general public about the prohibition is in preparation (March 2007).

Schools

Corporal punishment is unlawful in schools. The right to punish was abolished for school teachers in 1920 by verdict of the Court in The Hague (Nederlands Juristenblad 496, March 20 1920).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. The use of force in institutions for juvenile justice is lawful if applied in accordance with the rules of the Instruction on Violence in Judicial Youth Institutions (2001) and connected to article 40 of the Code Judicial Youth Institutions concerning violence and measures on restraining freedom (2000).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is prohibited under the 2007 amendments to the Civil Code (see above). Residential youth care institutions are also covered by the Instruction on Violence in Judicial Youth Institutions, connected to article 40 of the Code Judicial Youth Institutions (see above).

Workplace

Corporal punishment is prohibited.

Prevalence research

Research for the Ministry of Justice in 1997 revealed that nearly 47% of the Dutch population had experienced recurrent intra-familial violence, especially between the ages of 10 and 25 years. (Institute Dienst Preventie, Jeugdbescherming en Reclassering, 1997, Huiselijik gewald, Aard, omvang en hulpverlening, Institute Dienst Preventie, Jeugdbescherming en Reclassering)

A survey in 1999 by a popular parenting magazine of 2,000 mothers revealed 8% slapped or shook their 2 month-old babies to try to stop them crying. (Our Baby, April 1999)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“… The Committee is also concerned that there is no legal prohibition on corporal punishment in the family.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

d) explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in law throughout the State party and carry out public education campaigns about the negative consequences of ill-treatment of children, and promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment.”
(26 February 2004, CRC/C/15/Add.227, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 43 and 44 (d))

“The Committee welcomes the recent efforts to establish a network of child abuse reporting and counselling centres and the plans to strengthen child abuse monitoring and reporting systems. However, the Committee remains concerned about the growth in reported cases of child abuse and about the level of protection available to children. The Committee urges the State party to give increased priority to the prompt implementation and support of monitoring and reporting systems based on the position paper of the Ministries of Justice, and Health, Welfare and Sport concerning the prevention of child abuse and the protection and rehabilitation offered to victims of child abuse. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party, in line with developments in other European countries, take legislative measures to prohibit the use of all forms of mental and physical violence against children, including corporal punishment, within the family.”
(26 October 1999, CRC/C/15/Add.114, Concluding observations on initial report, para. 17)

Committee Against Torture

“The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts undertaken by the State party to combat torture and to guarantee the rights of persons not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in particular: ...

b) the entry into force of an amendment of the Dutch Civil Code in April 2007 which prohibits physical and mental violence ‘for educational purposes,’ including in the family environment ....”
(16 May 2007, CAT/C/NET/CO/4, Concluding observations on fourth report, Advanced Unedited Version, para. 3 (b))

European Committee of Social Rights

“The report states that an amendment to the Civil Code is in preparation banning all forms of violence of children. Meanwhile it notes that not all forms of violence of children are prohibited. The Committee recalls that Article 17 requires a prohibition in legislation against any form of violence against children, whether at school, in other institutions, in their home or elsewhere. It considers that any other form of degrading punishment or treatment of children must be prohibited in legislation and combined with adequate sanctions in penal or civil law. Therefore, it considers that since there is no prohibition in legislation of all forms of corporal punishment of children, the situation cannot be considered to be in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter.”
(July 2005, Conclusions XVII-2)

“The Committee wishes to know whether legislation prohibits all forms of corporal punishment of children, in schools, in institutions, in the home and elsewhere….”
(1 January 2001, Conclusions XV-2 vol. 2, pages 367-369)