UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Eighty-four per cent of parents and educationalists who took part in a 2011 poll said that corporal punishment of children is outdated and should not be condoned or encouraged. 16% said that “spanking” should be used to discipline children.

(Reported by Emirates 24/7, 23 February 2011, www.emirates247.com)

A poll conducted for Al Aan TV's Nabd al Arab programme and carried out by YouGov Siraj found that 53% of the 770 respondents agreed that parents should have the right to discipline their children including through physical punishment. One in five respondents (21%) said that corporal punishment was a form of domestic violence, and 10% said it was “backward”. The majority (84%) said that teachers could discipline children, with 32% happy for a teacher to strike the child, including with an object such as a ruler; 7% thought it acceptable to slap a child in the face or swear at them.

(Reported in The National, 5 March 2011)