Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home, schools, alternative care settings and possibly the penal system.

The Penal Code (article 110) allows a parent or guardian to “correct his or her legitimate or illegitimate child ... for misconduct or disobedience to any lawful command”. The near universal acceptance of corporal punishment in childrearing necessitates a clear statement in law that all forms of corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading treatment are unacceptable, however light, whatever the relationship between the child and adult, and whatever the setting.

Explicit prohibition of corporal punishment should be enacted in legislation applicable to all educational settings, public and private, in addition to repeal of article 110 of the Penal Code and of any regulations concerning corporal punishment in schools.

All provisions authorising and regulating corporal punishment as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions, including those in the Industrial School Rules under the Children and Young Persons (Administration of Justice) Act, should be repealed. Explicit prohibition should be enacted in relation to disciplinary measures in all institutions accommodating children in conflict with the law.

Explicit prohibition should also be enacted in legislation applicable to all alternative care settings, including public and private day care, residential institutions, foster care, etc.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home. Under provisions for “justifiable force”, article 110 of the Penal Code allows a parent or guardian to “correct his or her legitimate or illegitimate child ... for misconduct or disobedience to any lawful command”, and states that “no correction can be justified which is unreasonable in kind or in degree”.

Children have limited protection from violence and abuse under the Children and Young Persons (Administration of Justice) Act. A Child Protection Bill 2006 – intended to replace this Act – recognises children’s right “to exercise, in addition to all the rights stated in this Act, all the rights set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” but this is “subject to any reservations that apply to The Bahamas and with appropriate modifications to suit the circumstances that exist in The Bahamas with due regard to its laws” (article 4c). The Bill does not prohibit corporal punishment in the home and does not repeal article 110 of the Penal Code. We have been unable to establish whether or not this Bill has been enacted.

Schools

Corporal punishment is lawful in schools under article 110 of the Penal Code. The Child Protection Bill does not prohibit corporal punishment in schools.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime under article 118 of the Penal Code which states: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this, or any other law, no form of corporal punishment shall be imposed as a penalty under any law in respect to the commission of a criminal or disciplinary offence.” The Child Protection Bill does not include corporal punishment among permitted sanctions for juveniles convicted of an offence.

Corporal punishment appears to be unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under article 118 of the Penal Code. We have yet to confirm that the abolition overrides all laws authorising corporal punishment of children in conflict with the law. There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in institutions in the Child Protection Bill. As at December 2008, subsidiary rules under the Children and Young Persons (Administration of Justice) Act were accessible which allow for disciplinary corporal punishment in penal institutions for girls and boys, including the Children and Young Persons (Industrial School for Girls) Rules (1961) (Rule 18) and the Children and Young Persons (Industrial School for Boys) Rules (1947) (Rule 44).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is lawful in alternative care settings under article 110 of the Penal Code.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

"The Committee expresses its concern at the fact that corporal punishment is still widely practised in the family, in schools, and in institutions, and that domestic legislation does not explicitly prohibit its use.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

1. expressly prohibit corporal punishment by law in the family, schools and other institutions; and
2. conduct awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that alternative forms of discipline are administrated in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and in conformity with the Convention, especially article 28, paragraph 2.

(31 March 2005, CRC/C/15/Add.253, Concluding observations on initial report, paras.35 and 36)