Dr Andrew Rowland, Honorary Professor (Children’s Rights, Law, and Advocacy), and Dr Felicity Gerry KC (Honorary Professor) at the University of Salford are calling on the government to change the law to protect children from physical punishment.
The current law varies across the UK. In Wales, Scotland and Jersey, any type of physical punishment of a child, such as smacking, is unlawful. However, in England and Northern Ireland it is still legal for a carer or parent to discipline their child physically if it is a “reasonable” punishment.
Andrew, who is also Officer for Child Protection at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Within the UK, children in England and Northern Ireland are the only people who are not fully protected in law from assault. There is overwhelming academic evidence demonstrating that physical punishment is ineffective and in fact has harmful effects on children’s mental and physical health, as well as leading to social, behavioural and emotional difficulties. We also see that children who are physically punished are at a heightened risk of serious physical assault.”
In a new paper, available for free here,Andrew and fellow researchers propose legislative change as a deterrent to prevent cases of physical punishment of children in England and Northern Ireland, and to make assessment of children and engagement with families more efficient.
The paper also recommends education and support be provided for parents and carers to help them in using positive, non-violent methods to handle challenging behaviour.
Dr Felicity Gerry KC explained: “Our research provides balance in protecting children from assault and having a non-conviction outcome for some parents.”
