NEPALNEPALA study on barriers to education for children with disabilities in Nepal found that students with disabilities experienced corporal punishment at home and at school, and that this could contribute to the children’s lack of access to education.
(Human Rights Watch, 2011, Futures Stolen: Barriers to Education for Children with Disabilities in Nepal)
According to statistics from UNICEF relating to the period 2001-2007, of girls and women aged 15-49, 23% think 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 www.childinfo.org/files/Progress_for_Children-No.8_EN.pdf)
A 2008 study in 71 child centres in Nepal involved interviews and focus groups with children, child centre staff and children’s biological parents. It found that punishments in child centres included hitting children, isolating them, locking them in the toilet, public humiliation, and forcing them to clean floors and toilets.
(UNICEF and Terre des Hommes, 2008, Adopting the Rights of the Child: A study on intercountry adoption and its influence on child protection in Nepal, www.crin.org/docs/adopting_rights_child_ICA.pdf)
In a study in the schools of Kathmandu, 82% of students were found to suffer physical punishment in schools; 80% of students said that alternative methods can be used to discipline children.
(Reported in The Rising Nepal, 24 December 2006)
In December 2003, the Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT), in collaboration with UNICEF, conducted a focus group study on “Existing Systems of Discipline in Schools” among students, teachers and parents in four regions. The study revealed that corporal punishment was being used in most schools, more commonly in private than public schools. Physical punishment was most commonly used against primary school students, while psychological punishment was more common against secondary level students. Both were commonly used against lower secondary students. Many teachers and parents reported that giving severe punishment to children because they were unaware of alternatives to corporal punishment and knew little about the physical and psychological impacts of harsh punishments.
(Reported in CVICT, Monthly Update, June 2004, www.cvict.org.np)