Progress

  • 65 states have full prohibition of corporal punishment
  • 27 more states have committed to reforming their laws to achieve a complete legal ban - find out more
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Bar chart EN

States prohibiting all corporal punishment of children, including in the home:

 

Nations prohibiting all corporal punishment of children, including in the home:

Scotland, Wales

Delay

It is well over 30 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989. And yet still the law in far too many countries does not prohibit corporal punishment of children, or worse it explicitly authorises its use and sets out the details of how it should be inflicted. There is still a long way to go:

  • Only 14% of the world's children are fully protected in law from all corporal punishment
  • Governments of 107 states are not currently committed to law reform
  • In 63 states corporal punishment has not been fully prohibited in schools

 

In 15 states, corporal punishment is not fully prohibited in any setting, including as a sentence for crime:

Barbados; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Dominica; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Nigeria; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Somalia; State of Palestine; Tuvalu; UR Tanzania

Pie chart - EN

In 29 states, corporal punishment – whipping, flogging, caning – is still lawful under state, traditional and/or religious law as a sentence for crimes committed by juveniles:

Afghanistan; Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Dominica; Ecuador; India; Indonesia; Iran; Kiribati; Libya; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Nigeria; Pakistan; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Somalia; State of Palestine; Tonga; Tuvalu; United Arab Emirates; UR Tanzania; Vanuatu; Yemen

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