Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.

Note: The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state, but in 1948 autonomy was granted to the Faroe Islands and in 1979 to Greenland. These both previously had the status of counties but are now Self-Governing Territories of Denmark which effectively have control over their own internal affairs. See separate country reports for Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment has been prohibited in the home since 1997. In 1985, the Custody and Care Act was amended to state: “Parental custody implies the obligation to protect the child against physical and psychological violence and against other harmful treatment.” But this was found to be inadequate in prohibiting corporal punishment and further explicit prohibition considered necessary. A 1997 amendment to the Parental Custody and Care Act (1995) stated explicitly that the child “may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other degrading treatment.” The provision is reiterated in the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility (2007), which states in article 2(2): “Children have the right to care and security. Children must be treated with respect for their person and must not be exposed to corporal punishment or other humiliating treatment.”

Schools

Corporal punishment in schools was prohibited in 1967 under Danish Order No. 276 Concerning the Promotion of Order in the Schools.

Penal system

Corporal punishment was abolished as a sentence for crime in 1911.

Corporal punishment has been unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions since 1933, but we have no details of prohibiting legislation.

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is unlawful in alternative care settings. The prohibition of corporal punishment in the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility (see above) applies to all persons with parental authority over children.

Prevalence research

A survey of 1,008 students aged 12-16 found that 81.8% thought “a child should never be corporally punished”; 9.6% thought “a child can be corporally punished using mild forms of punishment (e.g. smacking)”; 83% disagreed that “parents have a right to use mild forms of corporal punishment on their children (e.g. smacking)”; 89% agreed that “children must be protected from all forms of violence”. (UNICEF (2011), Nordic Study on Child Rights to Participate 2009-2010, Innolink Research)

A 2010 study involving nearly 3,000 young people in Denmark found that 20% of them had been pushed, pulled, had their hair pulled, been hit with a flat hand, fist or an object or been kicked by a parent in the past year. Eight per cent had experienced this once and twelve per cent more than once. (Korzen, S., Fisker, L. & Oldrup, H. (2010), Vold mod Unge i Danmark, SFI - Det Nationale Forskningscenter For Velfærd)

For research published more than ten years ago, see the Research in prohibiting states pages.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee notes with concern that corporal punishment is lawful in the home and in alternative care settings in the Faroe Islands and that, although Government Circular No. 1 on School Discipline (12 January 1994) states that corporal punishment should not be used, there is no explicit prohibition in law.

“The Committee urges the State party to take measures to ensure that corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings and throughout its territory and to conduct awareness-raising and public education programmes with a view to encouraging the use of alternative disciplinary measures in line with the inherent dignity of the child, while taking due account of the Committee’s general comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment.”
(7 April 2011, CRC/C/DNK/CO/4, Concluding observations on fourth report, paras. 38 and 39)

“The Committee notes with satisfaction that in 1997, the right of parents to use corporal punishment on their children was abolished by law. The Committee expresses further satisfaction at the nationwide awareness raising campaign undertaken to inform parents about the new legislation. The Committee notes the efforts to include material in minority languages as a follow-up to the campaign.”
(10 July 2001, CRC/C/15/Add.151, Concluding observations on second report, para. 6)

European Committee of Social Rights

“The Committee notes from another source that corporal punishment is prohibited in the home, in schools and in child care institutions.”
(January 2012, Conclusions 2011)

“The Committee notes with satisfaction that Act No. 416/1997 abolished corporal punishment in the home; a child may not be punished corporally or exposed to other degrading treatment.”
(1 January 2001, Conclusions XV-2 vol. 1, pages 139-142)

Denmark was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review process in 2011 (session 11). No recommendations were made specifically concerning corporal punishment of children. However, the following recommendation was made and was accepted by the Government (A/HRC/18/4, Report of the Working Group, paras. 106(83) and 106(86)):

“Continue its efforts to combat domestic violence, especially against vulnerable groups such as women and children (Republic of Korea);

“Establish specific mechanisms and formulate specific programmes geared to addressing the issue of violence against women and children, including by harmonizing national legislation with international human rights standards (Indonesia)”

Examination in the second cycle is scheduled for 2016.