Global Table of Opportunities
| State | Opportunities for enacting prohibition | Prohibited drafted |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Comprehensive Law on Children being drafted (2014); Civil Code and Juvenile Code under review (2014); draft Shiite Personal Status Law under discussion (2014); draft Family Protection Law under consideration (2013); draft Family Code being finalised (2018) | ? |
| Algeria | Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Code on the organisation of penal institutions under review (2017) | [NO] |
| American Samoa | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Angola | Family Code being revised (2010); draft Code of Criminal Procedure under discussion (2009); legislation on the prison system being drafted | ? |
| Anguilla | OECS draft bills under discussion (2012); Domestic Violence Bill under discussion (2011); Child Justice Bill, Status of Children Bill and Family Law (Guardianship, Custody and Access to Children Bill) under discussion (2016) | NO |
| Antigua and Barbuda | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Armenia | New Criminal Code being drafted (2015); draft Law on the Rights and Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities under discussion (2015) | [NO] |
| Australia | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Azerbaijan | Draft Law on Protection of Children against All Forms of Corporal Punishment prepared (2011); Juvenile Justice Bill under discussion (2015); Bill on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under discussion (2018) | YES |
| Bahamas | Constitution under review (2013); family legislation under review and draft Gender Based Violence Bill under discussion (2018); Education Act under review (2018) | [NO] |
| Bahrain | Law on Civil Society, Law on Personal Status and amendments to Constitution under discussion (2014); Correctional Justice Bill (2018) | [NO] |
| Bangladesh | Law to prohibit corporal punishment in educational institutions and workplaces being drafted (2015); Draft Children Rules under the Children Act 2013, draft Child Education Act and amendments to Disabled Persons Protection and Rights Act 2013 under discussion (2015); new Family Code under discussion (2013) | ? |
| Barbados | Penal System Reform (Amendment) Bill, amendments to the Offences Against the Person Act under discussion (2016); Education Act and Regulations possibly being reviewed (2015); Juvenile Justice Bill being drafted (2016); Children's Act under discussion (2017) | [SOME] |
| Belarus | Draft domestic violence law under discussion (2015) | ? |
| Belgium | Bill amending the Civil Code under discussion (2016) | YES |
| Belize | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Bermuda | Education Act and Rules under review (2014) | ? |
| Bhutan | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Law on Social Protection and Law on Protection of Families with Children being drafted (2012); new domestic violence legislation being drafted in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012); amendments to the Family Law, the Law on Social and Child Protection, the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, the Criminal Code, the Law on Health Care, the Framework Law on Preschool and Primary Education and Upbringing and the Sports Law under discussion (2017); comprehensive Law on Children's Rights being considered (2017) | YES |
| Botswana | Adoption Act under review (2016); Prisons Act and Education Act under review (2018) | [SOME] |
| British Virgin Islands | Status of Children Bill and Maintenance of and Access to Children Bill under discussion (2013); new Prison Law and Prison Rules being drafted (2012); OECS draft bills possibly under consideration | NO |
| Brunei Darussalam | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Burkina Faso | Code of Criminal Procedure and Code on the Person and the Family under review (2012); draft Child Protection Code under discussion (2014); Constitution being reviewed (2017); regulations under the Law No. 010-2017 on the penitentiary regime being drafted (2017) | YES |
| Burundi | Draft Code on Child Protection under discussion (2014); Code on Children's Rights being drafted (2016); Code of Persons and of the Family being revised (2016) | NO |
| Cambodia | Law on Child Protection being drafted (2014); Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims 2005 under review (2019) | ? |
| Cameroon | Draft Code of the Person and the Family under discussion (2014); Civil Code under review (2014) | [NO] |
| Canada | N/A | |
| Cayman Islands | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Central African Republic | Draft Family Code under discussion (2014); Criminal Code being revised (2013) | [YES] |
| Chad | Draft Child Protection Code under discussion (2014); draft Code on the Person and the Family under discussion (2014); Bill on violence against women under discussion (2010) | [YES] |
| Chile | Bill Protecting the Rights of Children and Adolescents and Bill to amend Civil Code under discussion (2015); Constitutional reform under way (2015); Draft law creating a comprehensive statute against violence against children and adolescents under discussion (2019) | [YES] |
| China | New child protection laws being drafted (2014); legislation on preschool education being considered (2017) | ? |
| Comoros | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Cook Islands | Crimes Act Amendment Bill under discussion (2015) | ? |
| Cote d'Ivoire | Minority Act under review (2019); draft new Child Code in discussions (2019); Personal and Family Code and Criminal Code being revised (2015); draft Criminal Code under discussion (2013); draft new Family Code under discussion (2011) | ? |
| Cuba | ? | |
| Czech Republic | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Djibouti | Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure under review (2018) | ? |
| Dominica | Juvenile Justice Bill and draft domestic violence law under discussion (2014); Status of Children Bill, Children (Care and Adoption) Bill and Child Justice Bill being finalised (2019) | [SOME] |
| Dominican Republic | Civil Code and Penal Code being revised (2014); prohibiting legislation being drafted (2015); Family Code being drafted (2015); Positive Parenting Bill under consideration (2019) | YES |
| DPR Korea | No known opportunities | N/A |
| DR Congo | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Ecuador | Bill on a Childhood and Teenagehood Free from Physical Punishments and Degrading Treatments under consideration (2017); Children and Adolescents Code 2003 under review (2020) | YES |
| Egypt | No known opportunities | N/A |
| El Salvador | Penal Code under review (2017) | [NO] |
| Equatorial Guinea | Draft Family Code and draft Law on Gender Violence under discussion (2014); law on children being drafted (2011); Criminal and Civil Codes under review (2015) | ? |
| Eritrea | New Constitution being drafted (2015) | NO |
| Eswatini | Education legislation being reviewed (2012); Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill under consideration (2015) | ? |
| Ethiopia | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | Drafting of new Criminal Code planned (2012) | ? |
| Fiji | Draft Disability Decree under discussion (2014); draft Child Justice Bill and Child Protection Bill under discussion (2018); amendment to Juvenile Act being drafted (2018) | ? |
| French Polynesia | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Gabon | Family Code being drafted (2015); Bill on Domestic Violence under discussion (2017); Civil Code under review (2018) | NO |
| Gambia | Disability Bill under consideration (2015); Constitution being reviewed (2017) | NO |
| Ghana | Constitution under review (2015); amendments to the Children's Act and the Juvenile Justice Act under discussion (2016); draft Children’s (Amendment) Act 2019, draft Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Act 2019 and draft Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act 2019 being finalised (2019) | SOME |
| Gibraltar | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Grenada | Child Protection Act and Education Act under review (2013) | ? |
| Guam | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Guatemala | Amendments to the Law on Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents under discussion (2017); Child Protection System Bill under discussion (2021) | NO |
| Guernsey | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Guinea-Bissau | Bill to prohibit corporal punishment being drafted (2013); drafting of a comprehensive Code on Protection of Children planned (2013); Prisons regulations being drafted (2019) | [YES] |
| Guyana | Education Bill and Regulations under discussion (2014) | NO |
| Haiti | Family Code Bill, draft new Criminal Code, draft Children’s Code, Child Protection Bill and Bill on violence against women and girls under discussion (2016) | YES |
| Hong Kong | No known opportunities | N/A |
| India | Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2018 under discussion (2018) | SOME |
| Indonesia | Draft Criminal Code under discussion (2013) | NO |
| Iran | Children and Adolescent Protection Bill, draft Bill on The Provision of Women's Security against Violence, draft Bills on Juvenile Justice and Child Protection and draft Charter of Citizens' Rights under discussion (2014) | NO |
| Iraq | Draft new Personal Status Law under discussion (2014); law on children and law to prohibit corporal punishment possibly being drafted (2014); law for child protection within the family being drafted in Kurdistan (2015); draft Child Protection Act, draft Juveniles Act and draft law on domestic abuse under discussion (2015) | ? |
| Isle of Man | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Italy | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Jamaica | Child Care and Protection Act, Domestic Violence Act and Offences Against the Person Act under review (2015), amendments to the Education Act being drafted (2017) | YES |
| Jordan | Children's Rights Bill (2014) | ? |
| Kazakhstan | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Kiribati | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Kuwait | Bill on Domestic Violence under discussion (2020) | [NO] |
| Kyrgystan | New Child Code and amendments to the Code of misdemeanours under discussion (2019) | YES |
| Lao PDR | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Lebanon | Penal Code and Law 422 on Juvenile Justice under review (2015); Child Protection Bill under discussion (2010) | NO |
| Lesotho | Domestic Violence Bill under discussion (2015); Regulations and Court Rules under Children's Protection and Welfare Act 2011 being drafted (2015); Children’s Protection and Welfare Act Amendment Bill 2018 under discussion (2018) | ? |
| Liberia | Draft Domestic Violence Act and amendments to Constitution under discussion (2015) | [NO] |
| Libya | Draft Juvenile Justice Law under discussion (2014); new Constitution being drafted (2015); laws allowing flogging under review (2015) | ? |
| Macau | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Madagascar | Criminal Code under review (2015) | NO |
| Malawi | Child Care, Protection and Justice (Amendment) Bill, Penal Code (Amendment) Bill and Adoption of Children Bill under discussion (2015); Prevention of Domestic Violence Act 2006 and Prisons Act under review (2015) | ? |
| Malaysia | Bills which would allow implementation of Islamic (hudud) punishments at state level under discussion in Kota Baru and Kelantan (2014); draft Education Regulations (Pupil Discipline) 2018 possibly under discussion (2019) | [SOME] |
| Maldives | Education Bill under discussion (2015) | [SOME] |
| Mali | Child Protection Code and Criminal Code under review and Bill against Gender Based Violence under discussion (2018) | [NO] |
| Marshall Islands | Review of child protection legislation being consulted upon (2017) | ? |
| Mauritania | Law on violence against women being drafted (2015) | [NO] |
| Mauritius | Juvenile Justice Bill and Disability Bill under discussion (2015); draft Child Protection and Care Bill under discussion (2017); Child Protection Act under review (2017); Police and Criminal Justice Bill being prepared (2018); Children's Bill under discussion (2019) | YES |
| Mexico | Bills under discussion to amend the federal Civil Code and the General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents 2014 (2019); Bills to prohibit under discussion in the states of Quintana Roo and Oaxaca (2018) | YES |
| Micronesia | Criminal Code under review (2014); Pohnpei Family Violence Bill under discussion (2015); Family Protection Bills being drafted in Yap, Pohnpei and Chuuk (2016) | ? |
| Monaco | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Montserrat | OECS draft bills under consideration (2007) | ? |
| Morocco | Code of Criminal Procedure and Criminal Code being revised (2017) | ? |
| Mozambique | Penal Code to be reviewed (2016); Constitution under review (2015) | NO |
| Myanmar | Amendments to Constitution under discussion (2015); Bill on Violence against Women being drafted (2015) | [NO] |
| Namibia | Child Justice Bill under discussion (2013); amendments to the Combating of Domestic Violence Act 2003 under discussion (2016) | NO |
| Nauru | Constitution under review (2013) | ? |
| New Caledonia | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Niger | Draft Children's Code under discussion (2014); Family Code being drafted (2011) | YES |
| Nigeria | Violence Against Persons Bill, Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, Prison Reform Bill and Domestic Violence Bill under discussion (2013); child rights laws under consideration in a number of states (2012); Children and Young Persons Law, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Shari'a Penal Code under review (2010); Elimination of Violence against Women in Society Bill under discussion (2012) | ? |
| Niue | Family Law Bill under discussion (2015) | [YES] |
| Northern Mariana Islands | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Oman | Bill for Persons with Disabilities being drafted (2018) | ? |
| Pakistan | National Commission of the Rights of the Child Bill under discussion (2017); Child Protection Bill being drafted (2018); Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill being finalised (2020); Punjab Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill and Balochistan Corporal Punishment Bill under discussion (2014); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa considering legislation to prohibit in schools (2018); Zina laws being reviewed (2011) | [SOME] |
| Palau | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Panama | Drafting of a law on the promotion and integral protection of the family under discussion (2011); Bill on establishing a system of guarantees and comprehensive protection for the rights of children and young persons being drafted (2017) | ? |
| Papua New Guinea | Regulations under the Family Protection Act 2013 being drafted (2014); Education Act being revised (2015) | ? |
| Philippines | Constitution under review (2018); Children's rights Magna Carta being drafted (2020) | [NO] |
| Puerto Rico | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Qatar | Amendments to Law on Persons with Special Needs under discussion (2015); Children's Bill under discussion (2016) | ? |
| Russian Federation | Law on Domestic Violence being drafted (2014) | [NO] |
| Rwanda | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Samoa | Child Care and Protection Bill, Infants Amendment Bill and Teachers Bill under discussion (2015) | NO |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Family Law being revised (2013); Civil Code under review (2010); Early Education Bill being discussed (2016); Juvenile Justice Law and other child protection laws under review (2017) | ? |
| Saudi Arabia | Draft Alternative Penalties Act under discussion (2013); review of the Code of Criminal Procedure (2018) | [NO] |
| Senegal | Juvenile justice law under revision (2014); draft Children's Code under discussion (2013); Family Code under review (2013); legislation under consideration to regulate Koranic schools (2017) | [YES] |
| Serbia | Draft Civil Code Law and amendments to Family Law under discussion (2015); draft Law on the Rights of the Child and Law on Juvenile Offenders and Protection of Juveniles in Criminal Proceedings being discussed (2017) | [YES] |
| Sierra Leone | Constitution under review (2015); review of the Child Rights Act 2007 under discussion (2017) | ? |
| Singapore | Children and Young Persons Act under review (2019), Criminal Law Reform Bill being considered (2019) | [NO] |
| Slovakia | New Civil Code being drafted (2015) | [YES] |
| Solomon Islands | Police Bill and draft Federal Constitution under discussion (2015); Education Bill under review (2016); Youth Justice Bill being drafted (2018) | SOME |
| Somalia | Provisional Federal Constitution 2012 being reviewed (2017); Child Rights Bill, Juvenile Justice Bill and Education Bill being drafted (2019); Child Act under discussion in Somaliland (2016); Family Code being drafted for Somaliland (2011); Puntland juvenile justice law being drafted (2009) | ? |
| Sri Lanka | Amendments to Children and Young Persons Ordinance under discussion (2014); laws being drafted for inspection of childcare institutions and on early childhood care and development (2013); amendments to Orphanages Ordinance planned (2013); Children (Judicial Protection) Bill under discussion (2013); Child Protection and Justice Bill being finalised (2017); prohibition in schools being considered (2019) | [SOME] |
| St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | No known opportunities | N/A |
| St Kitts and Nevis | No known opportunities | N/A |
| St Lucia | Juvenile Justice Bill under discussion (2014); Constitutional reform under way (2015) | NO |
| St Pierre et Miquelon | No known opportunities | N/A |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Child Justice Bill under discussion (2016) | [NO] |
| State of Palestine | Draft Constitution, draft Social Affairs law and draft Penal Code under discussion (2009); draft family violence prevention law under discussion (2014); Personal Status Code being reviewed (2018) | ? |
| Sudan | Rules under the Child Act 2010 being drafted (2012); state child bills under discussion in Blue Nile, North Darfur and Gezira (2010); Permanent Constitution and Criminal Code being drafted (2017) | ? |
| Suriname | Civil Code being revised (2014); Framework Bill on Care Institutions and draft law on foster care under discussion (2014) | NO |
| Switzerland | Bill to prohibit corporal punishment under discussion (2018) | [YES] |
| Syrian Arab Republic | Child Rights Bill under discussion (2011); review of laws relating to juvenile justice planned (2011); review of Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure (2016) | ? |
| Taiwan | Amendments to Constitution under discussion (2015) | NO |
| Tajikistan | Criminal Code under review (2017) | ? |
| Thailand | Child Protection Act under review (2015) | ? |
| Timor-Leste | Draft Child Code, draft Tutelary and Education Law for Minors aged 12-16 and draft Law on a Special Penal Regime for Minors aged 16-21 under discussion (2015); Draft Law on Punitive-Educational Measures for Minors (2016) | [SOME] |
| Tokelau | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Tonga | Amendments to the Constitution, the Criminal Offences Act 1926, the Police Act 2010, and the Prison Act 2010 under discussion (2018) | ? |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Miscellaneous Provisions (Supreme Court of Judicature and Children) Bill 2018 under discussion | [SOME] |
| Turkey | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | OECS draft bills possibly under discussion; review of Education Ordinance planned (2015) | NO |
| Tuvalu | Constitution being reviewed (2018); Child Protection and Welfare Bill 2017 being consulted upon (2018) | ? |
| Uganda | Marriage and Divorce Bill under discussion (2015) | NO |
| UK | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 under review (2015); Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill in discussions (2018); review of the use of “pain-inducing restraint” in secure training centres and young offenders institutions and of degrading restraining practices in health institutions (2018) | NO |
| United Arab Emirates | Draft Federal Act on Domestic Violence and draft Federal Act on Juvenile Delinquents under discussion (2018) | [NO] |
| UR Tanzania | Proposed Constitution under discussion (2016); Zanzibar Education Act 1982 under review (2015) | NO |
| US Virgin Islands | Bill to prohibit corporal punishment in public schools under discussion (2019) | SOME |
| USA | Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Bill 2019 and Ending PUSHOUT Bill 2019 under discussion (2019) | SOME |
| Uzbekistan | Amendments to Family Code possibly under discussion (2013); Juvenile Justice Act being drafted (2012) | ? |
| Vanuatu | Comprehensive law on children being drafted (2014); Family Protection Act under review (2016); Young Offenders Bill possibly under discussion (2013); Child Protection Bill being discussed (2017); Juvenile Bill under consideration (2018) | [YES] |
| Viet Nam | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Western Sahara | No known opportunities | N/A |
| Yemen | Draft Child Rights Act under discussion (2015); new Constitution being drafted (2015) | SOME |
| Zimbabwe | Legislation authorising corporal punishment in schools under review (2011); General Amendment Bill to harmonise laws with the Constitution under discussion (2015); Children's Act and Education Act under review (2016); draft Juvenile Justice Bill (2016) | ? |
In the above table, the dates given in brackets indicate the most recent information held by End Corporal Punishment: to our knowledge all bills, draft laws, etc referred to are currently still "live" and still present opportunities for enacting prohibition of corporal punishment. Information in square brackets is unconfirmed. If you believe any of the information to be incorrect or out of date, please email secretariat@end-violence.org. For further details on all states and territories see the individual country reports on this website.