Overwhelming evidence to persuade court to stop you spanking your kids at home

On November 29 2018 the Constitutional Court considered whether physical punishment in the home is a violation of children’s rights and whether it should be banned. The case is an appeal by the organisation Freedom of Religion SA against a judgment by the South Gauteng High Court, which found that the legal defence that allows parents to smack their children is a violation of children’s rights. It is now up to the Constitutional Court to review this judgment and make a final decision on the matter. Appropriately, the court hearing took place during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.

In SA, violence against women and violence against children are widespread, as evidenced by different studies. Most people would agree that all forms of violence against women are unacceptable and a violation of their rights. Yet you do not see the same uproar against all forms of violence against children.

While there is public condemnation of child sexual abuse and severe child physical abuse, other forms of violence, such as physical punishment, are condoned. Many parents and caregivers still believe that the occasional — or regular — smack, slap or hiding is not only acceptable, but in fact necessary to teach children discipline.

It is therefore not surprising that studies show that the majority of children in SA experience physical punishment.

Recent findings from Richter and colleagues’ “Birth to Twenty Plus” study conducted in Soweto confirm this. Approximately 50% of preschool and primary school children have experienced violence in the home, most often through physical punishment by parents. In a study in the Eastern Cape, 69% of young women and 85% of young men reported being beaten at home with a hard object when they were children, and more than one in three reported having been beaten daily.

There is plenty of evidence to show that physical punishment is both unacceptable and unnecessary.

First, physical punishment has detrimental effects on children’s health and development. Research shows, for instance, that it raises the risk of depression and anxiety as well as child aggression.

Second, physical punishment feeds into an intergenerational cycle of violence because males who experienced physical punishment or other maltreatment during childhood are more likely to be violent towards their own children and intimate partners in adulthood. The intergenerational effects of physical punishment have recently been highlighted by Jamieson and colleagues, who explain that “males who experienced violent discipline and other maltreatment during childhood are more likely to be violent towards their own children and spouse in adulthood”.

Third, physical punishment violates children’s rights, such as their right to be protected from all forms of violence, including violence in the home. Violence in the home is still violence whether the victim is an adult or a child. In the recently launched South African Child Gauge 2018, Jamieson and colleagues emphasise that “the state not only can, but has an obligation to, protect children inside the family” because our constitution provides that everyone must be protected from violence from either public or private sources.

Many parents and caregivers are reluctant to give up physical punishment because they believe it is necessary to instil a sense of discipline in the child. This is particularly true for parents who were themselves beaten as children. But there are other, better forms of raising children.

Physical punishment is an antiquated form of discipline, which stems from a time when we did not know about child development and child psychology. But we know better now. Research shows that physical punishment does not teach children better behaviour. It may achieve short-term compliance but does not lead to insight and long-term changes in behaviour, which is what parents usually want to achieve when disciplining children.

Plenty of nonviolent approaches to discipline exist that can be used to teach children right from wrong. While there may be differences between these nonviolent approaches, they are based on a common foundation: we do not have to make children suffer for them to understand and learn.

While parents and caregivers might struggle to accept that it is time for adopting new ways of child discipline, the Constitutional Court should be guided by the overwhelming evidence and should protect children from harmful discipline practices in their homes.