New guidance briefing outlines key components of a strategy to eliminate violent punishment of children

Laying the foundations for non-violent childhoods: putting prohibition of corporal punishment of children into practice 

 

The ultimate goal of prohibiting corporal punishment is to ensure that no child ever experiences it - by eliminating its use completely. Legal prohibition sends a clear message that hitting and hurting a child, for whatever reason, is wrong, just as hitting and hurting adults is wrong.

But law reform alone will not eliminate corporal punishment.

Implementing the law is not only about responding to adults who violently punish children – it is primarily about transforming attitudes and practice so that physical punishment is no longer seen as acceptable, enabling a shift in social norms towards positive, non-violent childrearing methods.

However, prohibition only becomes really effective when concrete measures are put in place to prevent children from experiencing corporal punishment, however light.

This guidance aims to provide practical information to support the implementation of laws prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings, describing the key steps for moving from prohibition to elimination of corporal punishment.

 

Key steps corporal punishment

With sections on each of the following steps, the guidance describes how straightforward measures can be implemented to make effective progress in eliminating violent punishment of children.

  1. Enact
  2. Plan and coordinate
  3. Communication and awareness-raising
  4. Support parents
  5. Evaluate

This guidance accompanies our report 'Prohibiting all corporal punishment of children: laying the foundation for non-violent childhoods' also published in the context of the Together to #ENDviolence Solutions Summit Series.

With thanks to our partners for their assistance in producing this guidance, and appreciation to people everywhere working to #EndCorporalPunishment

 

Find out about the legality of corporal punishment in your country here.

 Get involved in the global campaign to #EndCorporalPunishment