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International, regional and national campaigns for law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment of children
Around the world there are campaigns for law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment of children in all settings. The context for many is the UN Study on Violence against Children, which recommended universal prohibition of corporal punishment by the year 2009. This page describes international, regional and national campaigns, with links where available. We welcome further information about these and other campaigns: please email info@endcorporalpunishment.org.
Click on these links for details:
International campaigns – Amnesty International; Plan International
Regional campaigns – Council of Europe; EURONET; Southern African Network
National campaigns – Afghanistan; Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brazil; Canada; Estonia; Fiji; Kosovo; Lebanon; Lithuania; Mongolia; Montenegro; New Zealand; Nigeria; Pakistan; Peru; Philippines; Serbia; Sierra Leone; South Africa; UK; US; Zambia
International campaigns
Amnesty international
Amnesty International’s Safe Schools campaign is part of its campaign to stop violence against women. The organisation has long campaigned against judicial corporal punishment.
Plan International
Learn Without Fear is a global campaign launched by Plan International in 2008. It aims to end violence against children in schools, including corporal punishment, and focuses on 49 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The campaign website is also available in French and Spanish.
The launch of the campaign coincided with the publication of Plan’s most comprehensive global examination of school violence to date. The full report and summary is available in English, French and Spanish, together with reports of the research commissioned by Plan, on the campaign resources page.
Regional campaigns
Council of Europe
“Raise your hand against smacking” is a campaign launched in June 2008 by the Council of Europe, the first regional inter-governmental organisation to campaign for an end to corporal punishment of children, as part of its programme “Building a Europe for and with children”. The initiative recognises the target date of 2009 set by the UN Study on Violence against Children to prohibit corporal punishment and aims to achieve full prohibition in all 47 member states. It also aims to promote positive parenting and to raise awareness of children’s rights throughout Europe.
The Council has developed tools for the use of governments, local authorities, professional networks, civil society and others caring for children. These resources, in English and many other European languages, include materials for the media, handbooks and information aimed at different audiences, posters and summary leaflets (available here).
Fifteen states signed up to the campaign at the launch: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey
European Children’s Network (EURONET)
The European Children’s Network (EURONET) is a network of European and national NGOs committed to promoting children’s rights in the European Union. In December 2008, it launched a campaign to prohibit corporal punishment in the home, aiming to ensure that all European Union member states are corporal punishment-free by 2009. EURONET has published a position paper on ending corporal punishment in the home which explains the problem, the human rights framework for prohibition and the importance of changing attitudes towards children and discipline, and makes recommendations to EU policymakers and politicians.
Southern African Network to end corporal punishment and other forms of humiliating punishment of Children
The Southern African Network to End Violence Against Children has been meeting annually since 2006, to coordinate advocacy of prohibition of all corporal punishment and promotion of positive discipline in southern African states. It is coordinated by Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) and includes members from Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia.
In November 2008, together with the African Child Policy Forum, the Network sent a delegation to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child at its 12th Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The delegation presented legal arguments and research on corporal punishment in African States and appealed to the Committee to take leadership on the continent by calling for Member States to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in all settings. The submission was endorsed by a wide range of organisations from across the continent. The Committee agreed that they would draft guidelines on positive discipline, with the assistance of the Southern African Network, and then send these to state parties together with an instruction to prohibit corporal punishment and other humiliating punishment of children.
The Network has also prepared a submission for the All Africa Conference of Churches in December 2008. Its recommendations include that the Conference include in its Conference Resolutions a commitment to promoting positive parenting and non-violent discipline in congregations across the continent and advocate within countries for a review of laws which legitimise “reasonable” corporal punishment in any setting.
Article 19, a journal established in 2005 to highlight issues related to all forms of corporal punishment of children, and promote positive discipline and prohibition of corporal punishment in South Africa and throughout Africa, is disseminated in the region through the Network. It is published every four months by the Children’s Rights Project at the Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, and is available here.
National campaigns
Afghanistan
As part of a long campaign against violence against children, Save the Children Sweden-Norway in Afghanistan marked the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008 with a month-long campaign focusing on ending corporal punishment in schools. In 2005, the Ministries of Education and of Justice had signed a ban on corporal punishment in schools, and the aim of the campaign was to confirm the prohibition in legislation. The campaign promoted the recommendation of the UN Study on Violence against Children that all violence against children, including corporal punishment, should be prohibited by the year 2009. In response to the campaign, the Ministers made a commitment to drafting a bill to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in schools. For further information see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Albania
In November 2008, the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Tirana launched an awareness-raising campaign against corporal punishment of children as part of the Council of Europe initiative to make Europe a corporal punishment-free zone (see above, under regional campaigns). The aim of the campaign is to promote positive parenting and to lobby parliament and government institutions to undertake legal reform. During November and December, campaigning will include TV broadcasts, translations of the Council of Europe campaign materials into Albania, distribution of information materials, posters displayed in the city and on buses, exhibitions of children’s drawings, and a special web page with information on the campaign right across Europe. The campaign is supported by the Parliament of Albania, World Vision Albania and Vizion + TV Channel.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council of Europe campaign to prohibit corporal punishment (see above, regional campaigns) was pursued in Bosnia and Herzegovina by a series of events to mark the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008. Children participated in high profile events to raise awareness of the issue and discussions were held with law, health and education professionals. A survey was carried out on adults’ and children’s attitudes towards corporal punishment. For further information, see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Brazil
A campaign to prohibit corporal punishment was launched by the 200-strong network “Educate, Do Not Punish” (“Rede Não Bata, Eduque!”) in June 2007. It aims to ensure that draft legislation to prohibit all corporal punishment which has already been discussed in parliament but met with opposition is revised and re-submitted to parliament in 2009. Academic papers, articles on corporal punishment, manuals for working with parents, and other reports are available on the website. The launch was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and members of parliament, as well as the children’s show host Xuxa Meneghel who is supporting the campaign and who features in the advertising materials.
The long-running Nationwide Campaign for a Non-Violent Pedagogy is based at the Institute of Psychology Child Studies Laboratory (LACRI) at the University of Sao Paulo, led by Dr Maria Amélia Azevedo and Dr Viviane Nogueira de Azevedo Guerra. It aims to fight all domestic violence against children, including corporal punishment, and to promote non-violent childrearing. The website includes information on historical and empirical research and an ongoing study course covering research, legal reform and awareness raising.
Canada
The Repeal 43 Committee is a national, voluntary group of lawyers, paediatricians, social workers and educators. Formed in 1994, the Committee campaigns for the repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code, which allows parents to use force “by way of correction”, and for explicit confirmation in provincial legislation of the judgment of the Supreme Court in 2004 which declared corporal punishment in schools to be unlawful.
Estonia
Estonian Union for Child Welfare
Fiji
Save the Children Fiji campaigns for explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings. Prior to the political coup in December 2006, a statement calling for an end to physical and emotional punishment of children was endorsed by the then Prime Minister, the Director of Public Prosecutions Office, the Fiji Human Rights Commission and other bodies. A series of workshops on positive discipline took place in 2007 and 2008, and a one day meeting with the National Coordinating Committee on Children (NCCC), which oversees implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is planned.
Kosovo
In Kosovo, the Council of Europe campaign to prohibit corporal punishment (see above, regional campaigns) was promoted on the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008. Children distributed awareness raising materials in city squares and pedestrian zones, and polled passers by. For further information, see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Lebanon
World Vision Lebanon is carrying out a national campaign to end corporal punishment in all settings, including in the home. It held a “Protect Children from Violence Month” which included a seminar, a roundtable discussion and grassroots activities to raise awareness about the issue and to build public support for action by policy makers to address the problem. As part of the campaign in 2008, children set up “Love Checkpoints” across the country at which they distributed flyers and posters. They also visited the Prime Minister, the head of the Lebanese Army and other Lebanese leaders to give their recommendations on law reform. The campaign was organised by a number of NGOs, including the Higher Council for Childhood, Save the Children Sweden, KAFA and Amel
Lithuania
Save the Children Lithuania is campaigning for prohibition of corporal punishment under the slogan “No to violence against children”. In 2008, children expressed their views on violence and corporal punishment in the family at a conference on the issue and participated in parliamentary debates. Save the Children Lithuania also launched its campaign “Educate responsibly”, which aims to promote positive parenting through public events for children and families, publication of reports and other materials, and a new website.
For the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008, Save the Children Lithuania campaigned through a round table discussion involving children and adult stakeholders, radio and television broadcasts, children distributing information materials to the public, and a cinema event to encourage more children to become involved. For further information, see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Mongolia
Within the context of developing a national child protection system, Save the Children UK in Mongolia and other NGOs are working together to promote amendments to the Family Law which would prohibit corporal punishment. The intention is to present the draft legislation to parliament late in 2008, with the aim of prohibiting all corporal punishment by 2009-2010.
Montenegro
As part of the Council of Europe campaign to prohibit corporal punishment (see above, regional campaigns), children campaigned against corporal punishment and interviewed members of the public to mark the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008. For further information, see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
New Zealand
EPOCH New Zealand. Prohibition of all corporal punishment was achieved in New Zealand in 2007, when the defence for the use of “reasonable force” in disciplining children was removed from criminal law. The website of EPOCH New Zealand contains a wealth of resource material related to the campaign which led to prohibition, including research, briefings for MPs, and other documents associated with law reform, as well as information on implementation of the reform.
Nigeria
The Child Rights Network (CHIRN) campaigns to end all corporal punishment of children, including in the home. The Network facilitates an NGO coalition, the National Action on Banning Corporal Punishment and Violence against Children, and is working closely with teachers to end corporal punishment in schools. Campaign materials include stickers, posters and a statement of support and appeal for prohibition endorsed by over 1,000 people and organisations. The Network produces regular news bulletins on the campaign, which are available by clicking on the links below. Further information is available from info_chirn@yahoo.com.
Discipline, vol. 1, no.4, Nov-Dec 2009
Pakistan
The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) campaigns for prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings, including in schools and in the home. It has published a trainer’s toolkit for teachers, Building Bridges: Alternatives to Corporal Punishment in Schools and runs training courses on this issue.
Peru
A campaign is underway in Peru to prohibit corporal punishment by amending the Child and Adolescents Code. The “Goodbye to Corporal Punishment” (“Adiós al Castigo”) campaign focuses on the impact of children’s organisations in eliminating corporal punishment and the promotion of a “pedagogy of tenderness” in parenting and education. Working in alliance with the Ombudsman, the organisations involved include Save the Children in Peru, Plan International, Terre des Hommes and EveryChild. A coalition of children and adolescents against corporal punishment has also been formed. The success of the campaign was marked by a statement by Congress in December 2007 of its all-party commitment to prohibition. Legislation has been drafted to be submitted to Congress through the Children’s Ombudsman in December 2008.
To mark the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008, awareness raising was carried out through a public gathering and arts festival, combing the efforts of a number of child rights organisations with the support of the Ombudsman’s Office. For further information see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Philippines
There are networks and alliances promoting prohibition of corporal punishment in the three major island groupings of the Philippines. Prohibiting corporal punishment is one of the four legal reform priorities of the Child Rights Network, led by Save the Children on this issue.
In 2006, Save the Children published a report on Philippine legislation relating to discipline and punishment of children, which formed the basis for the campaign to enact prohibiting legislation. The National Strategic Plan of Action on Violence against Children includes the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence against Children, including to prohibit all corporal punishment.
Awareness raising activities have been held, with children themselves playing a key role, including in workshops, street parades, and various forums. Bills which would prohibit in all settings by amending various laws have been filed at the Senate and the House of Representatives but have not yet been filed for public hearing. A more comprehensive bill is being drafted and consultations with adults and children are being held.
To mark the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action in October 2008, children campaigned for prohibition of all corporal punishment in a series of high profile activities in key cities in the country’s three major island groupsing (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao). For further information see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
Serbia
The campaign to prohibit corporal punishment in Serbia – “Never by force, always by dialogue” (“Uvek milom nikada silom”) – was launched in October 2007, when 18 child rights organisations, lead by Save the Children UK and UNICEF, called for a legal ban on all corporal punishment. The campaign is supported by the Council for Child Rights (a consultancy body of the government) and the deputy of the Child Rights Ombudsman of the Autonomous Region of Vojvodina. It aims to introduce explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in the Law on amendments of the Family Law (drafting of this Law is still in a planning phase). For further information, see the campaign manifesto (not in English).
In October 2008, children in a number of locations in Serbia marked the Save the Children Worldwide Day of Action by distributing information materials on corporal punishment and presented their call for prohibition to government authorities and the media. After being presented with a letter by six children asking for support for law reform, the Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic agreed to support the proposed legal amendments. For further information, see the Save the Children report on the 2008 Day of Action.
To mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2008, the Serbian Government’s Council for Child’s Rights, South East Europe Regional Office of Save the Children Norway, and the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade launched the campaign to abolish corporal punishment in the context of the Europe-wide campaign by the Council of Europe (see above, under regional campaigns).
Sierra Leone
In March 2008, Defence for Children International-Sierra Leone launched a campaign against corporal punishment in schools.
South Africa
Coordinated by the Southern African Network to End Violence Against Children (see above, regional campaigns), the campaign in South Africa seeks to reintroduce the prohibition of all corporal punishment in Parliament by way of an amendment bill in 2009, following the last minute rejection of complete prohibition in the Children’s Amendment Act passed in 2007. The possibility of constitutional challenge is being investigated should the legislative process fail. The Working Group on Positive Discipline held a national workshop in April 2008 which was attended by government representatives, civil society organisations and children and young people, and which aimed to strengthen the support base for prohibiting all corporal punishment and discuss the implementation of positive parenting programmes. Factsheets and Frequently Asked Questions have been developed and these together with research reports on the experiences of children have been widely distributed. RAPCAN has published new resources on positive discipline for parents and teachers (available on the resources page).
UK
The Children are Unbeatable! Alliance is the broadest campaign coalition ever assembled on a children’s issue in the UK, supported by more than 400 organisations. It campaigns for equal legal protection for children from assault through repeal of the “reasonable punishment” defence. It is associated with a children’s campaign, run by children and young people, and Children are Unbeatable! in Wales (S’dim Curo Plant!).
US
End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH-USA) campaigns to end corporal punishment in the home through education and legal reform, and in 2005 adopted a multi-pronged approach to ending all corporal punishment of children. It is coordinated by the Center for Effective Discipline.
National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools (NCACPS). The Coalition is coordinated by the Center for Effective Discipline and is comprised of individuals who share information on progress towards banning corporal punishment with the public and the media.
Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE) campaigns for equal protection from assault for children in the US, particularly in relation to prohibiting corporal punishment in schools. Its website, “Project NoSpank”, is a resource for parents, students, educators, education policy makers, healthcare providers, children’s advocates, and all others concerned with the safety and wellbeing of children.
“The Hitting Stops Here” campaign aims to raise awareness about the use of corporal punishment in schools in the US and about the harm it causes children, to enlist educators in not using corporal punishment and urging individuals to lobby state legislators to enact prohibition, and to promote positive non-violent parenting and teaching methods. The “21 To Go!” campaign aims to raise awareness that 21 states still allow corporal punishment in schools, through events across the US culminating in January 2009 with a demonstration at the US Capitol Building.
Zambia
Zambia’s campaign is coordinated by the Southern African Network to End Violence Against Children (see above, regional campaigns). Research into Zambian children’s views on corporal punishment has been published in a popular version and widely distributed, and there have been press releases and press conferences on the issue. The Zambia Interfaith Networking Group on HIV/AIDS has agreed to undertake a study of religious texts to see exactly what they say about physical punishment.
The Zambia Civic Education Association, as part of its “Ending Corporal Punishment Project”, has carried out awareness raising through radio and TV slots and workshops for government officials, teacher trainers, teachers, parents, guardians, caregivers, and church and community leaders.