GUYANAGUYANAA UNICEF report published in 2010 states that 76% of children aged 2-14 experienced violent discipline (physical punishment and/or psychological aggression) in 2005-2006. Nearly two thirds experienced physical punishment, while a smaller percentage (27%) of mothers and caregivers thought that physical punishment was necessary in childrearing, and non-violent discipline was also widely used: experienced by 87% of children. One child in six experienced severe physical punishment (being hit or slapped on the face, head or ears or being hit over and over with an implement) and 67% experienced psychological aggression (being shouted at, yelled at, screamed at or insulted). Boys were slightly more likely than girls to experience violent discipline: 80% compared to 75%. Children aged 5-9 were slightly more likely to experience violent discipline than those of other ages: 79% of children aged 5-9 compared to 78% of children aged 2-4 and 75% of children aged 10-14. Children living in larger households were more likely to experience violent discipline: 82% of children in households of 6 or more people compared to 74% of children in households of 2-3 people. The statistics also suggest that children with more siblings are more likely to experience violent discipline in most countries involved in the study (p. 72). Children engaged in child labour experienced violent discipline more than those who were not engaged in child labour: 88% compared to 80%. No significant differences in children’s experience of violent discipline were found according to the level of education of adults in the household.
(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 eighteen per cent 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)
Research carried out in 2008 by a group of individuals and organisations identified the views, needs and fears of children, parents and teachers, based on focus groups, questionnaires, interviews, and reviews of relevant research and political and non-political materials. It found, among other things, that while there was high support for school corporal punishment among parents (92%) and only 8% felt it should be abolished, almost one in four (23%) felt that children would be better behaved in class if corporal punishment was not used and 2% felt there would be no change in behaviour. Parents reported they would support prohibition if schools and teachers were properly resourced and trained in positive disciplinary methods. Few parents indicated that their opinions would be changed by media campaigns or celebrity endorsements.
(Smith, C. and Mbozi, J., 2008, Removing Corporal Punishment from Schools: Integrating Partner Efforts, Georgetown: Business Unlimited Consulting Services www.hands.org.gy/files/Corporal Punishment Report - 2008.pdf)
In June 2007, the Minister of Education Shaik Baksh announced that the Ministry had conducted a survey on the use of corporal punishment in schools which found that 53% of schools use corporal punishment as a means of maintaining discipline and 47% do not. Phase two of this survey would focus on finding out what are the factors that lead to these schools not using corporal punishment, the performance of the students, the level of violence in the schools and other factors.
(Reported in Stabroek News, 8 June 2007)
An assessment of standards in the twenty residential care institutions in Guyana found that 55% of them allowed beating children as a punishment.
(Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, 2006, Assessment of procedural and physical standards in children’s residential care institutions in Guyana)
In February 2005, government-commissioned research was published based on accounts of almost 4,000 children aged 3-17 years about their experiences of violence in home, schools and the wider community. Corporal punishment was the fourth most commonly mentioned type of abuse (45%), after fighting, killing/murder and beating/beating-up, and various types of corporal punishment were mentioned by just under half the groups in every area (43-50%). Of those interviewed (aged 7-17), 87% had received corporal punishment of some kind (licks, lashes, beating) at least once in the home and 81% had been beaten or hit with a belt, cane, whip or other object; children as young as 3 years reported being disciplined by their parents with an object. There was no difference relating to gender, ethnicity or geographical area. One third (33%) of children described physical punishments leading to injury (bleeding skin, broken bones, blacking out). Corporal punishment as most commonly reported as being inflicted by mothers. Over a quarter (27%) of children in the children’s homes visited reported being physically hurt by a caregiver in the home, and a similar number reported being physically punished by staff at the New Opportunity Corps training school.
(Cabral, C. & Speek-Warnery, V. (2005), Voices of Children: Experiences with Violence, Georgetown: Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security/ Red Thread Women’s Development Programme/ UNICEF-Guyana)
A campaign was launched in 2004 by the National Commission on the Rights of the Child in primary and secondary schools in Georgetown to find out children's views on corporal punishment. The survey found that 3,645 children in primary schools were in favour of corporal punishment, with 2,043 against it. In secondary schools, 932 children were in favour of corporal punishment compared with 1,335 against.
(Reported in "Culture of beating children goes deep - workshop on alternatives told", Stabroek News, 17 June 2004)
In an interview survey of 1,200 pupils aged 9-17 years in 24 secondary schools, 56.1% reported being whipped by their teachers (55.7% boys, 57.8% girls), using branches from trees, pieces of wood, rulers, metal strips from old tables and other parts of old school furniture, or hands. 18% reported being made to kneel down by teachers, 20.2% being shaken, and 26.3% being slapped. 26.2% reported suffering injuries as a result of abuse by teachers.
(Gill-Marshall, 2000, "Child Abuse in Guyana: A study of teacher abuse of children", University of Guyana Thesis, cited in NGO Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2003)