Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is unlawful in the home. In 1957, the law excusing parents who caused their children minor injury through corporal punishment was removed from the Penal Code. In 1966, the provision allowing “reprimands” was removed from the Parenthood and Guardianship Code. Corporal punishment was explicitly prohibited in a 1979 amendment to the Parenthood and Guardianship Code which states (article 6.1): “Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment.”

Children are protected from all forms of violence under the Penal Code, the Social Services Act and the Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (amended 2002). Article 5 of the Constitution (1975) states: “All citizens shall be protected against corporal punishment….”

Schools

Corporal punishment has been unlawful in schools since 1958. Applicable law includes the Act Prohibiting Discrimination and Other Degrading Treatment of Children and School Students (2006).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under the Constitution (see above).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is unlawful in other institutions and forms of childcare under the Parenthood and Guardianship Code (see above).

Workplace

Corporal punishment is prohibited.

Prevalence research

Surveys by the Swedish Department of Social Welfare in the 1990s found that 78% of adults considered corporal punishment unacceptable. They also showed a significant reduction in the use of corporal punishment since the legislative prohibition, with 30% of middle school aged students reporting experience of corporal punishment, contrasting with a 1979 finding of 50%. (Statistics Sweden, 1996, Demography, the family and children, spanking and other forms of physical punishment: a study of adults’ and middle school students’ opinions, experience, and knowledge, Stockholm: Statistics Sweden)

A review of research published in 2000 found a significant decline in public support for corporal punishment between 1965, when 53% of the population supported its use, and 1997, when 11% (6% under the age of 35 years) found it acceptable. (Durrant, J. E., 2000, A Generation Without Smacking: The impact of Sweden’s ban on physical punishment, London: Save the Children UK)

Studies carried out in 2000 on behalf of the Parliamentary Committee on Child Abuse and Related Issues involved interviews with parents of 1,609 children, a nationwide classroom questionnaire completed by 1,764 children aged 11-13 years, and a nationwide postal survey completed by 1,576 20 year-olds. Compared with earlier studies, fewer children (20%) reported experiencing corporal punishment, and less frequently than before; 4% of children aged 11-13 years and 7% of young adults aged 20 years reported experiencing severe corporal punishment with some sort of instrument. Interviews with parents revealed a marked change in attitudinal support for corporal punishment, from 53% in 1965 to 10% in 1999. The proportion of children accepting parental corporal punishment similarly decreased, from 50% in 1995 to 25% in 2000. (Janson, S., 2000, Children and abuse – corporal punishment and other forms of child abuse in Sweden at the end of the second millennium: A scientific report prepared for the Committee on Child Abuse and Related Issues, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

European Committee of Social Rights

“The Code of Parenthood and Guardianship expressly provides that children may not be subjected to corporal punishment or other degrading treatment.”
(1 January 2001, Conclusions XV-2 vol. 2, pages 567-569)

“In particular, the committee noted the efforts made in the legislative field through the enactment of legislation (in force since July 1979), to prohibit physical punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment towards children….”
(1 January 1981, Conclusions VII, page 90)