SWITZERLAND

Research in 2004 by Fribourg University commissioned by the Federal Social Insurance Office involved interviews with 1,240 parents with children under the age of 16 years and found that the use of corporal punishment by parents is in decline but smaller children are more often subjected to beatings than older ones. Based on the findings, the study estimates that 13,000 children under the age of 30 months have been slapped, nearly 18,000 have been pulled by the hair and about 1,700 hit with objects.

(Schöbi, D. & Perrez, M., 2004, Bestrafungsverhalten von Erziehungsberechtigten in der Schweiz: Eine vergleichende Analyse des Bestrafungsverhaltens von Erziehungsberechtigten 1990 une 2004, Universität Fribourg (in German); English information from "Small children target of parental beatings", swissinfo, 24 January 2005)