The year 2015 has witnessed a milestone in progress towards universal prohibition of corporal punishment of children: now, more than half of UN member states have achieved prohibition in all settings, including the home, or are committed to doing so. In total, 48 states have now prohibited all corporal punishment and Governments in another 52 states have made a commitment to full prohibition.

This latest global progress report from the Global Initiative and Save the Children charts the growth in the list of states prohibiting, and making a commitment to prohibiting, all corporal punishment. It considers prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in the context of the new Sustainable Development Goals, particularly target 16.2 under which states have committed to work to “End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children”. It also describes growing faith-based advocacy for reform and ever mounting research making visible this most common form of violence against children.

Packed with facts and figures – the good and the bad – as well as setting out the relevant international human rights standards and what the obligation to protect children from corporal punishment means in terms of law reform, this report is intended to provoke and support continued advocacy on the issue.

It is exciting to hear from the Global Initiative that we have reached a new tipping point: more than half of all UN member states have either prohibited all corporal punishment of children (48 states), or clearly committed to do so (another 52 states – making a total of 100). Now we have the additional context of full global commitment to new Sustainable Development Goals and targets – including the adopted target 16.2 to end ‘all forms of violence against children’ by 2030: this has to include the prohibition and elimination of violent punishment of children, the most common and pervasive form of violence against them in the family – and in many states also in schools and other settings.”

Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child; Chair, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, in Ending legalised violence against children: global progress to December 2015

The full report is available here.

A limited number of hard copies is available for advocacy use, contact info@endcorporalpunishment.org.