Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home under article 353 of the Children’s Code (2007) together with article 357. Article 353 protects children from all forms of violence perpetrated by parents or any other person having control or custody of the child: “The state protects the child from all forms of violence including sexual abuse, physical or mental injury or abuse, abandonment or neglect, and ill treatment by parents or by any other person having control or custody over him” (unofficial translation). Article 357 explicitly includes corporal punishment among the forms of violence that are punishable: “Physical and psychological abuse, corporal punishment, deprivation of care or withholding of food are punished by the penalties provided …” (unofficial translation).

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools, vocational training centres and institutions in article 376 of the Children’s Code: “Corporal punishment and other forms of violence or abuse are prohibited in schools, vocational training, and institutions. This includes any institution or orphanage, rehabilitation centre for disabled children, reception and rehabilitation centre, hospital, re-education centre or other place of childcare, temporary or permanent” (unofficial translation).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. There is no provision for judicial corporal punishment in the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. The Children’s Code states that children in conflict with the law should be treated with humanity and with respect for their human dignity and prohibits inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment (article 347), and explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in institutions (article 376, see above).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all forms of alternative care under articles 357 and 376 of the Children’s Code (see above).

Prevalence research

A UNICEF report published in 2010 states that 91% of children aged 2-14 experienced violent discipline (physical punishment and/or psychological aggression) in 2005-2006. More than three quarters experienced physical punishment. Non-violent discipline was also widely used: experienced by 90% of children. More than a quarter of children experienced severe physical punishment (being hit or slapped on the face, head or ears or being hit over and over with an implement) and 83% experienced psychological aggression (being shouted at, yelled at, screamed at or insulted). Children aged 5-9 were slightly more likely to experience violent discipline than younger children: 92% of children aged 5-9 compared to 87% of children aged 2-4. No significant differences in children’s experience of violent discipline were found according to sex, household size, level of education of adults in the household or engagement in child labour. (UNICEF (2010), Child Disciplinary Practices at Home: Evidence from a Range of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, NY: UNICEF)

According to statistics from UNICEF on violence in the family, in 2005-2006 more than half (53%) of girls and women aged 15-49 thought that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances. (UNICEF (2009), Progress for Children: A report card on child protection, NY: UNICEF)

From mid-2005, Plan Togo commissioned research into violence and abuse in schools (Plan Togo, 2006). This included a joint study with the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) which involved interviews with 1,000 schoolchildren in 35 villages and with more than 500 mothers of school aged children, teachers, traditional chiefs, members of security services, social workers and others, a case study on violence and abuse in Togolese schools comprising 19 first-person narratives and observations based on interviews with children, parents and teachers in 7 villages and 2 towns, and a discussion of structural violence in the education system in Togo. In the FAWE  research, children in their last 3 years of primary school were interviewed: 88% of the girls and 87% of the boys reported experiencing physical violence at school; 52% of girls and 48% of boys reported experiencing threatening behaviour or psychological violence. (Plan Togo, 2006, Suffering to Succeed? Violence and abuse in schools in Togo, Lome: Plan Togo)

A 2003 Human Rights Watch report on child trafficking in Togo noted that many boys had been recruited into agricultural labour and worked very long hours, with many recalling that taking time off for sickness or injury would lead to longer working hours or corporal punishment. Most boys interviewed reported suffering physical injuries on the job and some of these were from corporal punishment by employers. The report notes that girls trafficked for domestic or market labour also experienced frequent beatings, carried out by bosses or by other neighbours
(Human Rights Watch (2003), Borderline Slavery: Child Trafficking in Togo).

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee regrets that many of the concerns and recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.83) it made upon consideration of the State party’s initial report (CRC/C/3/Add.42) have been insufficiently addressed, especially those regarding ... corporal punishment (para. 40)....

“The Committee is deeply concerned that corporal punishment of children remains legally and socially accepted, and consequently is common in families and schools and other institutions for children, despite the Committee’s previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.83) and the Order of the Ministry of Education issued in 1980.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

2. adopt a law effectively prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children in the family, in schools, in detention centres, in other forms of childcare institutions and in the community;
3. take effective measures to prohibit the use of violence against children, including corporal punishment, by parents, teachers and other caregivers;
4. undertake well-targeted public awareness campaigns on the negative impact of corporal punishment on children, and provide teachers and parents with training on non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment.”

(31 March 2005, CRC/C/15/Add.255, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 6, 38 and 39)

“The Committee is concerned at the fact that corporal punishment is a common practice in the family, in schools and in other institutions. In this regard, the Committee is worried by the absence of a comprehensive law that clearly prohibits corporal punishment of children.

“In the light of articles 3, 19 and 28 (2), the Committee strongly recommends that corporal punishment be explicitly prohibited by law and that information campaigns be launched to appropriately sensitize adults on the dangers and harms of the practice. The Committee further recommends that the legislation protecting children from violence be amended in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention.”
(10 October 1997, CRC/C/15/Add.83, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 17 and 40)

Committee Against Torture

“The Committee has noted the worrying detention conditions prevailing in Togo, in particular in Lomé and Kara prisons. The most widespread problems are overcrowding and a shortage of food, poor hygiene and a lack of material, human and financial resources. The treatment of prisoners remains a matter of concern to the Committee. Cases of corporal punishment for disciplinary offences have been reported. Often women and children are not held separately from men and adults, and persons awaiting trial are not separated from those serving sentence (art. 11).

The State party should put an end to practices that run counter to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. It should also take immediate steps to reduce overcrowding in prisons and the number of people held in pretrial detention, and to ensure that women and children are held separately from men and adults and that persons awaiting trial are separated from those serving sentence.”
(28 July 2006, CAT/C/TGO/CO/1, Concluding observations on initial report, para. 19)

Universal Periodic Review

Togo was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2011. No recommendations were made concerning corporal punishment of children. (Prohibition was achieved in all settings in 2007.) Examination in the second cycle is scheduled for 2016.