Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home and alternative care settings.

Article 208 of the Civil Code confirms the right of those with parental authority to “moderately correct” children, article 36 of the Act for Safeguarding of Minors in the 21^st Century confirms that those with parental responsibility have the “right and obligation” to “protect, educate and discipline the minor” and there is a similar provision in article 44 of the Comprehensive Child Well-being and Protection Act. The near universal acceptance of a certain degree of violence in childrearing necessitates clarity in law that no amount or kind of corporal punishment is lawful or acceptable. These provisions should be repealed/amended so as to leave no legal justification for the use of corporal punishment in childrearing, and explicit prohibition enacted of all corporal punishment, however light, by all persons with authority over children.

Explicit prohibition should be enacted in relation to 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. Article 208 of the Civil Code (1930) confirms the right of those with parental authority to “moderately correct” children. The Act for Safeguarding of Minors in the 21^st Century (1999) confirms that those with parental responsibility for children have the “right and obligation” to “protect, educate and discipline the minor” (section 36(d)(2)). The same duty is specified in article 44 of the Comprehensive Child Well-being and Protection Act (2003). That Act  aims to protect children from all forms of violence in the home, both “domestic violence” and “child abuse”, to facilitate their development in a violence free environment and with respect for their human dignity (preamble), and article 14 (Prevention of Violence) puts a duty on the Government Department of the Family to “develop and offer educational programs on peaceful and harmonious living and the rearing of children for individuals of all ages and social groups, to be disseminated through the mean communication media”; the programs shall aim at “enabling and promoting harmonious living, child rearing, and discipline without violence, based on the values of love, solidarity, and peace, compatible with respect for the human rights of all, including children”. However, there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment and it is unclear whether or not the law is interpreted as prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment in childrearing, however light.

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools in article 3.09 (Disciplinary Measures) of the Organic Act of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico (1999): “Students shall observe the standards of behavior that are promulgated to ensure the orderly performance of the school. The violation of these standards will bring about the imposition of sanctions that will vary from a slight admonishment, to expelling the student. The sanction of suspension and expelling the student shall not be imposed without undergoing due process of law, except in those cases indicated in Section 3.10 of this Act. Corporal punishment is forbidden.”

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. There is no provision for judicial corporal punishment in the Criminal Code (2004) or the Minors Act (1986).

Corporal punishment is explicitly prohibited as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under the regulations of the Corrections Administration (article 1255, “Rights of Inmates, Women Prisoners and Minors”).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is lawful in alternative care settings under the right and obligation of those with authority over the child to “protect, educate and discipline the minor” in the Act for Safeguarding of Minors in the 21^st Century (see above). The Act prohibits abuse in all institutions, but does not explicitly prohibit corporal punishment. Article 208 of the Civil Code also applies (see above).

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child