Lawfulness of corporal punishment

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Corporal punishment is lawful in the home.

Articles 351-358 of the Indonesian Penal Code prohibit maltreatment – intentional injury to health, serious or light, with or without premeditation, with the punishment increased if committed against one’s child. Article 18 of the Constitution states: “(1) Children shall be entitled to special protection by the family, the community and the State, particularly against all forms of abandonment, discrimination, violence, oppression, sexual abuse and exploitation. (2) Children shall enjoy all rights that are universally recognised, as well as all those that are enshrined in international conventions normally ratified or approved by the State.” As at April 2005, a draft Domestic Violence Law was under discussion and a Children’s Code was being drafted with the support of UNICEF.

Schools

Corporal punishment is lawful in schools. A draft Education policy refers to the “promotion of nonviolent and positive disciplining methods in schools” and the Ministry of Education is committed to addressing the issue of corporal punishment.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. The Constitution prohibits the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Under the UNTAET (UN Transitional Administration in East Timor) Rules of Criminal Procedure 2000/30 (revision 2001/25) all suspects and accused have the right “to be free from any form of coercion, duress or threat, torture, or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” UNTAET Regulation 2001/23 on the Establishment of Prison Service states that no person under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and corporal punishment is not among the list of permitted disciplinary measures. Section 2 of the Regulation states that every penal institution shall be operated in accordance with the principles of international instruments, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition in law of corporal punishment in other institutions and forms of childcare. From April 2005, Policy and Procedures for Child Care Centres and Boarding Houses are being launched which prohibit corporal punishment and physical abuse in child care centres, orphanages and boarding houses.

Workplace

No information.

Prevalence research

Research carried out in 2004/5 by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Labour and Community Reinsertion, UNCEF and Plan International, examined the attitudes and practices of teachers and parents towards discipline of children. Self administered questionnaires were completed by 168 students and interviews were carried out with 1,031 parents and 31 community leaders; focus group discussions were held separately with students, parents, children who lived in residential care, and residential care staff. Over two thirds of children (67%) reported being beaten with a stick by teachers, and 39% reported being slapped on the face by teachers. Three out of five (60%) reported being beaten with a stick by their parents. Almost two thirds of parents (63%) felt it acceptable to yell violently at a child; almost two in five (39%) said it was acceptable to beat a child with a stick, and just over a third considered other physical punishments such as ear twisting and face slapping acceptable. (UNICEF, 2006, Speak Nicely to Me – A Study on Practices and Attitudes about Discipline of Children in Timor-Leste)

In a survey by UNICEF of more than 500 children aged 9-17 years, carried out in 2001, 53% of children said “my parents beat me when I do something wrong”; 44% said that people hit each other in their homes; and while 87% of children found it easy to talk to their teachers about school related problems, among the remaining children 34% stated the reason they found it difficult to talk to teachers was because “they beat me”. (UNICEF, 2001, Speaking Out! Voices of Children and Adolescents in East Asia and the Pacific)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee welcomes the State party’s accession to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Punishment or Treatment, but is concerned at allegations concerning cases of degrading treatment of children by the police and in the prison system.

“The Committee urges the State party to strictly observe the minimum standards prescribed by the above Convention and to ensure that no child is subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment of any kind.

“The Committee is concerned at reports that corporal punishment is a common phenomenon at home and is frequently used to discipline children at school and in other educational settings.

“In light of the Committee’s General Comment No. 8 on “The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment”, the Committee recommends that the State party explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including through awareness-raising campaigns aimed at families, the school system and other educational settings.

“With reference to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on violence against children (A/61/299), the Committee recommends the State party to:

1. Take all necessary measures for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent expert of the United Nations study on violence against children while taking into account the outcome and recommendations of the regional consultation for East Asia and the Pacific held in Bangkok from 14 to 16 June 2005;
2. Use these recommendations as a tool for action in partnership with civil society and in particular with the involvement of children, to ensure that every child is protected from all forms of physical, sexual and mental violence and to gain momentum for concrete and, where appropriate, time-bound actions to prevent and respond to such violence and abuse;
3. Seek technical assistance from UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the above mentioned purposes.”

(1 February 2008, CRC/C/TLS/CO/1 Unedited Version, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44)