Country Report for Seychelles

LAST UPDATED: June 2020

Law reform has been achieved. Corporal punishment is unlawful in all settings, including the home.

Prohibition of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. The Children (Amendment) Act 2020 was adopted by the National Assembly on 12 May 2020 to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment and repeal the defence. The Children (Amendment) Act 2020 amends the Children Act 1982 to insert a new article 70B which states: “(1) Notwithstanding any other law, no child shall be subjected to corporal punishment. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of SCR25,000 or to imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or to both a fine and imprisonment, provided that the Court shall first consider other appropriate means of disposing of the matter, taking into consideration the relationship between the offender and the child.” The Children (Amendment) Act 2020 also repeals article 70(7) of the same Act, which recognised a right to parents and other adults with lawful control of a child to “administer proper punishment”. The 2020 Act further states in its introduction that, in addition to repealing the statutory defence, it aims to abolish “any other defence with respect to assault against a child available to parents and persons acting in loco parentis” – leading to children having “the same legal protection from assault as adults”. Corporal punishment is defined as “any kind of physical punishment of a child to maintain discipline or to enforce a rule in the exercise of parental authority, or rights or authority derived from having charge, custody, access, care, maintenance, or control of the child”. The Children (Amendment) Act 2020 was assented by the President on 19 May 2020 and is now in force.

Prior to law reform, corporal punishment was lawful in the home under the common law right to inflict “reasonable chastisement” on children and article 70(7) of the Children Act 1982. In 2016, the Government had accepted recommendations made during the Universal Periodic Review of the Seychelles to prohibit corporal punishment of children, including through repealing the right “to administer proper punishment” in the Children Act 1982.[1] In accepting the recommendations, the Government had stated that the rights of the child was the highest priority in the national agenda and it was in this light that the recommendations on corporal punishment were accepted.[2] During its examination by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2018, the Government had reiterated its commitment to banning corporal punishment of children in all settings.[3] In July 2019, the Secretary for Family Affairs had again reiterated Seychelles’ commitment “to amend the law to ban corporal punishment”.[4]

 

Alternative care settings

Corporal punishment is unlawful in alternative care settings under article 70B of the Children Act 1982. The Children Act had provided for the Minister to make regulations for “the conduct of residential and other establishments and for securing the welfare of persons residing or accommodated in them, including … (iii) specifying the occasions on which corporal punishment may be given to children in those establishments and the persons who may give it” (art. 107), but this article was repealed by the Children (Amendment) Act 2020.

 

Day care

Corporal punishment is unlawful in day care under article 70B of the Children Act 1982 and in preschool education (for children over 3) under the Education (Amendment) Act 2017 (see under “Schools”). The provision in the Children Act 1982 which gave the Minister the power to make regulations on corporal punishment in institutions was repealed by the Children (Amendment) Act 2020.

 

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under the Education (Amendment) Act 2017, which amends article 68 to state: “(1) All schools and educational institutions shall, in consultation with the Principal Secretary and in accordance with the relevant regulations, formulate and enforce rules of conduct and discipline of the students. (…) (3) A teacher or headteacher or a person employed by a school, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, shall not administer corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure.” The ban in article 70B of the Children Act 1982 also applies.

 

Penal institutions

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under article 70B of the Children Act 1982. The provision in the Children Act 1982 which gave the Minister the power to make regulations on corporal punishment in institutions was repealed by the Children (Amendment) Act 2020.

 

Sentence for crime

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. It is not among the permitted sanctions in the Children Act 1982 (art. 95) or the Penal Code 1955 (art. 25). The Constitution 1993 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 16).

 

[1] 8 April 2016, A/HRC/32/13, Report of the working group, paras. 120(42) and 120(43); 9 June 2016, A/HRC/32/13/Add.1, Report of the working group: Addendum

[2] 8 April 2016, A/HRC/32/13, Report of the working group, paras. 29, 64, 82, 108, 120(42) and 120(43)

[3] See “Committee on the Rights of the Child examines report of Seychelles”, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22597&LangID=E, accessed 30 January 2018

[4] See “Banning corporal punishment: Hitting a child may soon be illegal in private homes in Seychelles”, http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/11326/Banning+corporal+punishment+ Hitting+a+child+may+soon+be+illegal+in+private+homes+in+Seychelles, last accessed 18 October 2019

Universal Periodic Review of Seychelles’ human rights record

Seychelles was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2011 (session 11). In its national report submitted to the review the Government stated that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under the Children Act 1982.[1] During the review the Government reiterated this assertion and also stated that corporal punishment was explicitly prohibited by the 1993 Constitution.[2] As noted above, research by the Global Initiative finds no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in the Children Act or the Constitution. The following recommendation was made to the Seychelles:[3]

“Establish a de jure moratorium on the use of corporal punishment (Hungary)”

The Government appears to have accepted the recommendation in its general acceptance of recommendations concerning protection of children.[4]

Examination in the second cycle took place in 2016 (session 24). The following recommendations were made:[5]

“Expressly prohibit the corporal punishment of children in all settings including the home, penal institutions, schools and day care centres and also take steps to explicitly repeal the right ‘to administer proper punishment’ in the Children’s Act (Ghana);

“Ensure the explicit inclusion in the national legislation, of the prohibition of all forms of corporal punishment of minors, whether in the home, child care facilities, schools and education centres in general (Uruguay)”

The Government accepted the recommendations, stating: “The ‘Education Act, 2004’ is being amended to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in schools. Consideration is also being given to amend the ‘Children Act, 1982’ for this purpose. It is to be noted however that cases of corporal punishment are already being prosecuted under assault provisions of the ‘Penal Code, 1955’.”[6] The Government also stated that the rights of the child is the highest priority in the national agenda and it is in this light that the recommendations on corporal punishment were accepted.[7]

 

[1] 2 March 2011, A/HRC/WG.6/11/SYC/1, National report to the UPR, para. 59

[2] 11 July 2011, A/HRC/18/7, Report of the working group, paras. 17 and 65

[3] 11 July 2011, A/HRC/18/7, Report of the working group, para. 100(49)

[4] 18 November 2011, A/HRC/18/2, Report of the Human Rights Council on its eighteenth session, para. 339

[5] 8 April 2016, A/HRC/32/13, Report of the working group, paras. 120(42) and 120(43)

[6] 9 June 2016, A/HRC/32/13/Add.1, Report of the working group: Addendum

[7] 8 April 2016, A/HRC/32/13, Report of the working group, paras. 29, 64, 82, 108, 120(42) and 120(43)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

(2 February 2018, CRC/C/SYC/CO/5-6 Unedited advance version, Concluding observations on fifth/sixth report, paras. 4, 22 and 23)

“The Committee reminds the State party of the indivisibility and interdependence of all the rights enshrined in the Convention and emphasizes the importance of all the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations. The Committee would like to draw the State party’s attention to the recommendations concerning the following areas, in respect of which urgent measures must be taken: to ensure greater visibility to children’s rights in the new national action plan on families 2018-2022 (para. 8); the rights to a name and nationality, to know and be cared for by their parents, and to identity (para. 21); all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment (para. 23); sexual exploitation and abuse (para. 25); and juvenile justice, in particular as regards the minimum age of criminal responsibility (para. 39).”

“The Committee welcomes that the Education (Amendment) Bill 2017 has been passed by the National Assembly in December 2017, prohibiting corporal punishment in schools. However, the Committee is concerned that its other relevant previous recommendations have not been implemented, namely explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings.

“Reiterating its concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.189, paras. 32 and 33, and CRC/C/SYC/CO/2-4, para. 43), and, with reference to its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, and No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, the Committee urges the State party to: (a) Expedite the amendments to the Children Act to repeal article 70 (7) allowing for corporal punishment and to explicitly prohibit it at all settings, including at home, in alternative care settings, day care institutions and penal institutions; (b) Strengthen public education and awareness-raising and social mobilization programmes involving children, families and communities on the harmful effects of corporal punishment with a view to changing attitudes and promoting alternative, positive and non-violent forms of child-rearing and discipline.”

 

Committee on the Rights of the Child

(23 January 2012, CRC/C/SYC/CO/2-4, Concluding observations on second to fourth report, paras. 42 and 43)

“The Committee remains concerned that various forms of violence against children occur in the State party. In particular, corporal punishment is allowed under the common law in Seychelles as a right to inflict ‘reasonable chastisement’ on children, thus making it lawful at home, and there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in schools and alternative care institutions.

“The Committee reiterates its previous concerns and concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.189, paras. 32 and 33) and encourages the State Party to take into account its general comments No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, and No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, and adopt measures to combat all forms of violence against children.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

a) prohibit explicitly by law corporal punishment and so-called “reasonable chastisement” of children in the family, schools, alternative care settings and penal institutions;

b) introduce sustained public education and awareness-raising and social mobilization programmes involving children, families and communities on the harmful effects of corporal punishment with a view to changing attitudes and promoting alternative, positive and non-violent forms of child-rearing and discipline….”

 

Committee on the Rights of the Child

(30 October 2002, CRC/C/15/Add.189, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 5, 32 and 33)

“The Committee notes the State party’s prohibition of corporal punishment in the home, schools and all other institutions involved in the care or protection of children.

“While noting that the State party has prohibited corporal punishment, the Committee remains concerned that children may still be subject to violence in the home, schools or institutions, and that corporal punishment may be reintroduced in schools.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

a) carry out public education campaigns about the negative consequences of ill-treatment of children and promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment;

b) provide further training for all professional groups working with or for children, including police and detention officials, on alternative forms of discipline and on how to detect and address signs of ill-treatment in a child-sensitive manner….”

 

Committee Against Torture

([August 2018], CAT/C/SYC/CO/1 Advance unedited version, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 34 and 35)

“The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment of children is not explicitly and unequivocally prohibited in alternative care, in all day care settings, and in penal institutions and in the home, since the Children Act 1982 allows for “reasonable chastisement” (arts. 2 and 16).

“The Committee recommends that the State party amend its legislation to expressly prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, in particular in public institutions, through acts or omissions by State agents and others who engage the State’s responsibility under the Convention, and explicitly repeal the right to inflict “reasonable chastisement” under the Children Act 1982.”

 

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

(1 March 2018, CRPD/C/SYC/CO/1 Advance unedited version, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 16 and 17)

“The Committee notes with concern:

(a) Delays in the review of the Children Act and other child related laws and that corporal punishment has not been prohibited in all settings; …

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Expedite the revision of the Children Act and ensure the inclusion of a disability perspective in line with the Convention and a ban on corporal punishment in all settings; …”

Prevalence/attitudinal research in the last ten years

None identified.