Public urged to dial 999 when a child is smacked
●Scottish Government advice to ‘report a crime’ prompts concerns
Campaigners have raised fresh concerns over the introduction of a smacking ban in Scotland next month after new guidance urges people to phone 999 and "report a crime" if they see a child being punished.
Critics now claim the legislation will turn "ordinary, decent mums and dads" into criminals, despite assurances from Scottish Government ministers.
The Children( Equal Protection from Assault )( Scotland) Act 2019 was brought forward by Greens MSP John Finnie and passed at Holyrood last year after it was backed by 84 MSPS while 29 opposed it. The measures will come into effect on 7 November and guidance has now been published by the Scottish Government setting out how it will work in practice.
This states: "If you see someone physically punishing their child you should call 999 to report a crime in progress or if a child or young person is in immediate danger.”
It adds: “You can also call the police on 101 if you think a crime has been committed. Another option is for you to contact Crime stop person 0800 555 111 to report a crime anonymously. They'll pass the information about the crime to the police. Or you can contact your local council if you are concerned about harm to a child from physical punishment.”
The guidance goes on: “If a parent or carer physically punishes or disciplines their child they can be prosecuted with assault. Under the current law, depending on what happened, the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ may be available to them.”
The Be Reasonable campaign group which opposed the smacking ban say it contradicts previous statements from proponents of the legislation that this would not be the case. Children’s Minister Maree Todd had previously told MSPS: “Our intention
is not to criminalise parents.”
Dr Ashley Frawley, a sociologist and spokesperson for Be Reasonable, said: “Supporters of the smacking ban, including the Scottish Government, constantly claimed that it is ‘not about criminalising parents’.
“Yet here we have government guidance encouraging the reporting of smacking as a ‘crime’ and confirming that parents can be ‘ prosecuted’. This confirms what we’ve been saying from day one - the smacking ban will turn ordinary, decent mums and dads into criminals .“parents and carers in Scotland should be outraged at the dishonesty of the political class. A smacking ban was completely unnecessary. There is no evidence that light physical discipline harms children, and current laws already criminalise abuse.
The ban is nothing but a virtue signalling exercise by outof-touch elites. They may feel good about themselves just now but ordinary mums and dads will pay a heavy price."
Previous polling in Scotland pointed to widespread opposition to the ban with 74 per cent of adults saying smacking should not be a criminal offence, while 75 percent said parents and guardians should decide whether or not to smack their children.
Mr Finnie, a former police officer, won the support of the SNP, Labour and Liberal Democrats as well as his own party and many children's charities when he brought forward the legislation last year.
He said smacking teaches children that "might is right", and that the ban would "send a strong message that violence is never acceptable in any setting".
He also said there was "irrefutable" evidence that physical punishment damages children, is not an effective form of discipline and can escalate into physical abuse. The Scottish Conservatives opposed the bill, claiming it was bad legislation that risks criminalising "good parents" for using "reasonable chastisement".
Sweden became the first country in the world to ban smacking in the home when it outlawed corporal punishment in 1979.
A report published by a group of Scottish children' s charities in 2015 found that the physical punishment of children was more common in the UK than in the US, Canada, Italy, Germany and Sweden. The researchers estimated that between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of parents in the UK have used physical punishment, with children aged between three and seven the most likely to be smacked.
They also found that many parents do not view smacking as a "good thing", but believe that sometimes it is the "only thing that will work".
And they said the use of physical chastisement has declined over the years alongside a shift in public attitudes, with" convincing evidence" that the decline has been steeper in the more than 50 countries around the world that have already banned smacking.
Research examining the views of children on smacking has suggested that it hurts and upsets them, and does not always stop bad behaviour.
Opponents of the ban say that the current law only allows parents to use "very mild discipline" such as a smack on the hand or bottom - which would become a criminal offence.