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{{Short description|Punishment intended to cause physical pain}}
{{abuse}}
{{Confuse|Capital punishment}}
{{About|the infliction of bodily pain as a form of punishment|other uses|Corporal punishment (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2011}}
{{Corporal punishment|I’m=}}


A '''corporal punishment''' or a '''physical punishment''' is a [[punishment]] which is intended to cause physical [[pain]] to a person. When it is inflicted on [[Minor (law)|minors]], especially in home and school settings, its methods may include [[spanking]] or [[Paddle (spanking)|paddling]]. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on [[prisoner]]s and [[Slavery|slaves]], and can involve methods such as [[whipping]] with a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]] or a [[whip|horsewhip]].
'''Corporal punishment''' is a great way to get kids to behave infliction of [[pain]] intended as [[correction]] or [[punishment]].
For a broader definition ("corporal" means of, relating to, or affecting the body; that can be affected otherwise than pain-affliction, e.g. removal, incarceration), non-corporal alternatives and various general considerations such as the rationale, see under [[punishment]].


Physical punishments for crimes or injuries, including [[flogging]]s, [[Human branding|branding]]s and even [[mutilation]]s, were practised in most [[civilization]]s since ancient times. They have increasingly been viewed as inhumane since the development of [[humanitarianism]] ideals after the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], especially in the [[Western world]]. By the late 20th century, corporal punishment was eliminated from the [[legal system]]s of most [[developed countries]].<ref name="BritannicaCP">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/138384/corporal-punishment|title=Corporal punishment|date=9 November 2014|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>


The legality of corporal punishment in various settings differs by jurisdiction. Internationally, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the application of [[human rights]] law to the question of corporal punishment in a number of contexts:
Corporal punishment is generally held to differ from [[torture]] in that it is applied for disciplinary reasons and is therefore intended to be limited, rather than intended to totally destroy the will of the victim. Severe or prolonged forms of corporal punishment are, however, more or less indistinguishable from torture.
* ''[[Corporal punishment in the home]]'', the punishment of children by parents or other adult guardians, is legal in most of the world. As of 2023, 65 countries, mostly in [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]], have banned the practice.<ref name="Countries Prohib" />
* ''[[School corporal punishment]]'', of students by teachers or school administrators, such as [[caning]] or [[Paddle|paddling]], has been banned in many countries, including [[Canada]], [[Kenya]], [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]] and all of Europe. It remains legal, if increasingly less common, in some states of the [[United States]] and in some countries in [[Africa]] and [[Southeast Asia]].
* ''[[Judicial corporal punishment]]'', such as whipping or caning, as part of a [[Sentence (law)|criminal sentence]] ordered by a court of law, has long disappeared from most European countries.<ref name="globalpartnership">{{Cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/ |title=Progress |date=2021 |publisher=Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children}}</ref> As of 2021, it remains lawful in parts of Africa, Asia, the [[Anglophone Caribbean]] and indigenous communities in several countries of South America.<ref name="globalpartnership" />
* ''Prison corporal punishment'' or ''disciplinary corporal punishment'', ordered by prison authorities or carried out directly by correctional officers against the inmates for misconduct in custody, has long been common practice in penal institutions worldwide. It has officially been banned in most Western civilizations during the 20th century, but is still employed in many other countries today. Punishments such as paddling, [[foot whipping]] or different forms of flagellation have been commonplace methods of corporal punishment within prisons. This was also common practice in the [[Australia]]n [[Flagellation#Australian penal colonies|penal colonies]] and prison camps of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi regime]] in Germany.
* Military corporal punishment is or [[Flagellation#Flogging as military punishment|was allowed]] in some settings in a few jurisdictions.


Studies vary when it comes to the effects of corporal punishment. Usage of corporal punishment to discipline children is a crime in seventeen countries.
In many Western countries, medical and human rights organizations oppose the corporal punishment of children. [[Campaigns against corporal punishment]] have aimed to bring about legal reforms in order to ban the use of corporal punishment against minors in homes and schools.


== Scope of use ==
==History==
===Prehistory===
When used for the punishment of criminals or slaves, it is usually applied using an instrument such as a [[cane]] or a [[whip (implement)|whip]]. Other examples include the '[[cat-o-nine-tails]]', once used in America and by the British, and the Russian [[knout]], consisting of leather thongs with pieces of metal inserted. Ancient [[Rome|Romans]] used a similar device, the [[scourge]].
Author [[Jared Diamond]] writes that [[hunter-gatherer]] societies have tended to use little corporal punishment whereas agricultural and industrial societies tend to use progressively more of it. Diamond suggests this may be because hunter-gatherers tend to have few valuable physical possessions, and misbehavior of the child would not cause harm to others' property.<ref name="Diamond">{{cite book |last1=Diamond |first1=Jared |title=The World Until Yesterday |url=https://archive.org/details/worlduntilyester00diam_0 |url-access=registration |date=2013 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-1-101-60600-1 |at=Ch. 5}}</ref>
===Corporal punishment in history ===
While some [[tribe|tribal people]]s had corporal punishment and others did not, it seems to have existed in all higher civilizations. Corporal and even [[capital punishment]] were long main forms of punishment in civilized societies. Roman society used a number of forms of corporal punishment including [[beating]] and [[mutilation]]. This continued throughout medieval Europe. Fines were generally a preferrential alternative, as they generate welcome income.


Researchers who have lived among the [[Parakanã]] and [[Ju/'hoansi]] people, as well as some [[Aboriginal Australians]], have written about the absence of the physical punishment of children in those cultures.<ref name="Gray">{{cite journal |last=Gray |first=Peter |date=2009 |title=Play as a Foundation for Hunter-Gatherer Social Existence |journal=American Journal of Play |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=476–522 |url=http://www.journalofplay.org/issues/1/4/article/play-foundation-hunter-gatherer-social-existence |access-date=1 October 2017 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414143551/https://www.journalofplay.org/issues/1/4/article/play-foundation-hunter-gatherer-social-existence |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Since the 18th century, corporal punishment has tended to be gradually replaced by fines for lesser crimes and incarceration for those considered a danger to society, as the emphasis of criminal punishment has shifted from retribution and spectacle to reformation and surveillance. Corporal punishment proved most persistent as a punishment for violation of [[prison]] rules, as a military field punishment, and in [[schools]].


Wilson writes:
It is sometimes thought that the punishment should follow the [[mirror principle]] (see there), often by affecting the part of the body that [[sin]]ned.


{{quote|Probably the only generalization that can be made about the use of physical punishment among primitive tribes is that there was no common procedure [...] Pettit concludes that among primitive societies corporal punishment is rare, not because of the innate kindliness of these people but because it is contrary to developing the type of individual personality they set up as their ideal [...] An important point to be made here is that we cannot state that physical punishment as a motivational or corrective device is 'innate' to man.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.1}}}}
Examples of corporal punishment from the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] onwards have tended to emphasise the administration of a set amount of pain by measurable procedures.


===Antiquity===
===Present day corporal punishment of adults===
[[File:Whipping of an incarcerated delinquent, Germany 17th century.jpg|thumb|Birching, Germany, 17th century]]
[[File:Flogging.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Depiction of a flogging at Oregon State Penitentiary, 1908]]


In the [[Western world]], the corporal punishment of children has traditionally been used by adults in authority roles.<ref>Rich, John M. (December 1989). [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30182058?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104806765033 "The Use of Corporal Punishment".] ''The Clearing House'', Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 149–152.</ref> Beating one's son as a form of punishment is even recommended in the [[book of Proverbs]]:
Several societies retain widespread use of [[judicial corporal punishment]]. These include [[Singapore]] and [[Malaysia]]. The Singaporean practice of [[caning]] became much discussed in the U.S. in 1994 when American teenager [[Michael P. Fay]] was sentenced to such punishment for an offence of car vandalism. In Singapore, male violent offenders and rapists are typically sentenced to caning in addition to a prison term.


{{quote|He that spareth the rod, hateth his son; but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes. (Proverbs 13:24)
Corporal punishment is also dictated as a punishment in traditional [[Islamic]] [[Sharia]] law, and applied in countries like [[Saudi Arabia]].


A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. (Proverbs 18:6)
A small minority in the West argue that corporal punishment is a quick and effective method and less cruel than long-term [[incarceration]]; they think that it should be considered in the West as an alternative to [[prison]]. Some few even want corporal punishment to replace [[fine]]s.


Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18)
The overwhelming majority of westerners, however, considers judicial corporal punishment a [[relic]] of a [[barbaric]] past, usually associated with [[dictatorship]]s, [[police state]]s, and [[fundamentalist]] regimes as [[Iran]] or [[Saudi Arabia]].


Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it from him. (Proverbs 22:15)
===Corporal punishment of children===


Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with a rod, thou shalt deliver his soul from hell. (Proverbs 23:13–14)|<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Wilson |first1=Robert M. |title=A Study of Attitudes Towards Corporal Punishment as an Educational Procedure From the Earliest Times to the Present |url= http://www.zona-pellucida.com/wilson01.html |publisher=University of Victoria |date=1971 |at=2.3 |oclc=15767752}}</ref>{{efn|It has been debated among scholars as to whether what is encouraged in the [[book of Proverbs]] is the corporal punishment of a "child" or a "young man". The word translated "child" in most cases in the Bible refers to a young man rather than a child.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leeb |first1=Carolyn |title=Away from the Father's House |date=2000 |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |location=Sheffield |isbn=1-84127-105-5}}</ref>}}}}
Many educators use a milder form of corporal punishment called "[[spanking]]", usually slapping their child's buttocks with the palm of their hand; alternatively, they may administer a single [[smacking|smack on the hand]] with their own hand. Others punish their children with a [[Switch (rod)|switch]] or a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]], although this practice is less common than in years past.


Robert McCole Wilson argues that, "Probably this attitude comes, at least in part, from the desire in the patriarchal society for the elder to maintain his authority, where that authority was the main agent for social stability. But these are the words that not only justified the use of physical punishment on children for over a thousand years in Christian communities, but ordered it to be used. The words were accepted with but few exceptions; it is only in the last two hundred years that there has been a growing body of opinion that differed. Curiously, the gentleness of Christ towards children (Mark, X) was usually ignored".{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.3}}
Opinions on corporal punishment of children are varied. Whilst practice is accepted and embraced in many countries, it is also illegal in a number of others. There is pressure in some countries, including the [[United Kingdom]], to have any form of corporal punishment of children made illegal and treated as [[child abuse]]. [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Norway]], [[Austria]], [[Cyprus]], [[Denmark]], [[Latvia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Germany]], [[Israel]], [[Iceland]], [[Romania]], [[Ukraine]] and [[Hungary]] have banned the corporal punishment of children entirely. In some states of the [[USA]], [[paddle|paddling]] of children is still allowed. Recently, the US state of [[Massachusetts]] has proposed a bill banning all forms of corporal punishment on minors under 18.


[[File:Falaka-Iran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Foot whipping]] an offender, Persia, 1910s]]
Although [[China]] has made corporal punishment against children illegal in the school system, it is still widely practiced. In most part of [[Confucian]] East Asia (including [[China]], [[Taiwan|Republic of China]], [[Japan]] and [[Korea]]), it is legal to punish one's own child using physical pain. Even in parts of East Asia which are more Westernized (including [[Singapore]] and [[Hong Kong]]), punishing one's own child with corporal punishment is still either legal, only discouraged, or illegal but without active enforcement of the relevant laws. Culturally, people in the region generally believe a minimal amount of corporal punishment against their own children is appropriate and necessary. And thus such practice is tolerated by the society as a whole.


Corporal punishment was practised in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Ancient China|China]], [[Ancient Greece|Greece]], and [[Roman Empire|Rome]] in order to maintain judicial and educational discipline.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.3–2.6}} [[disfigurement|Disfigured]] Egyptian criminals were exiled to [[Tjaru]] and [[Rhinocorura]] on the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] border, a region whose name meant "[[rhinectomy|cut-off noses]]." Corporal punishment was prescribed in ancient Israel, but it was limited to 40 lashes.<ref>Deuteronomy 25:1-3</ref> In China, some criminals were also disfigured but other criminals were tattooed. Some states gained a reputation for their cruel use of such punishments; [[Sparta]], in particular, used them as part of a disciplinary regime which was designed to increase willpower and physical strength.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}} Although the Spartan example was extreme, corporal punishment was possibly the most frequent type of punishment. In the Roman Empire, the maximum penalty which a Roman citizen could receive under the law was 40 "lashes" or 40 "strokes" with a whip which was applied to the back and shoulders, or 40 lashes or strokes with the "''[[fasces]]''" (similar to a birch rod, but consisting of 8–10 lengths of willow rather than birch) which were applied to the buttocks. Such punishments could draw blood, and they were frequently inflicted in public.
There is resistance, particularly from conservatives, against making illegal the corporal punishment of children by their parents or guardians. In [[2004]], the United States declined to become a signatory of the [[United Nations]]'s "Rights of the Child" because of its sanctions on parental discipline, citing the tradition of parental authority in that country and of privacy in family decision-making.


[[Quintilian]] ({{circa|35}} – {{circa|100}}) voiced some opposition to the use of corporal punishment. According to Wilson, "probably no more lucid indictment of it has been made in the succeeding two thousand years".{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}}
A number of countries allow corporal punishment as a sanction for use by schools, though the United Kingdom has banned this practice.


{{quote|By that boys should suffer corporal punishment, though it is received by custom, and Chrysippus makes no objection to it, I by no means approve; first, because it is a disgrace, and a punishment fit for slaves, and in reality (as will be evident if you imagine the age change) an affront; secondly, because, if a boy's disposition be so abject as not to be amended by reproof, he will be hardened, like the worst of slaves, even to stripes; and lastly, because, if one who regularly exacts his tasks be with him, there will not be the need of any chastisement (Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory, 1856 edition, I, III).{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}}}}
Proponents of the corporal punishment of children, whilst accepting that excessive physical punishment amounts to [[child abuse]], argue that corporal punishment, properly administered, can be the most effective form of discipline for unruly children, and even a form of reassuring control for some young adolescents. Polls consistently show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that corporal punishment is sometimes necessary. There is also the argument that without recourse to the ''short, sharp smack'' parents may use forms of [[emotional abuse|emotional violence]] that are actually more abusive.


[[Plutarch]], also in the first century, writes:
Opponents argue that any form of violence is by definition abusive. It is also pointed out that much experience from [[psychology]] research indicates that usage of corporal punishment results in destruction of trust bonds between parents and children, who can grow resentful, shy, insecure, or violent. Corporal punishment is also claimed by some researchers to work against its objective (normally [[obedience]]), since children will not voluntarily obey an adult they do not trust, and will have to be regularly coerced; it could therefore be speculated whether parents are beating their children because they are disobedient, or whether they are disobedient because they are being beaten. However, anti-spanking researcher Elizabeth Gershoff dissented from this view in a 2002 study, reporting that use of corporal punishment did correlate positively with compliance in children (while maintaining that the research reinforced the other anti-spanking arguments.)


{{quote|This also I assert, that children ought to be led to honourable practices by means of encouragement and reasoning, and most certainly not by blows or ill-treatment, for it surely is agreed that these are fitting rather for slaves than for the free-born; for so they grow numb and shudder at their tasks, partly from the pain of the blows, partly from the degradation.<ref>{{citation |author=Plutarch |url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/plutarch-moralia_education_children/1927/pb_LCL197.41.xml |title=Moralia. The Education of Children |publisher=Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press, 1927.}}</ref>}}
=== Corporal punishment, fetishism, and BDSM ===
Corporal punishment is sometimes [[fetish|fetishized]], and is the basis of a number of [[paraphilia]]s, most notably [[erotic spanking]].
The techniques and rituals of corporal punishment are often included in [[BDSM]] activities; see [[impact play]]. All that is outside our article, since it is voluntary, not coercion.


[[Image:Koerperstrafe- MA Birkenrute.png|thumb|right|280px|[[Birching]] on the buttocks]]
==Types and means==
While it is possible to classify corporal punishments by the categories of its scope of application (e.g. educational including parental and school discipline, other domestic, judicial etc.), i.e. by why can punish who, see above, this section elaborates the various ways to perform the physical torment.


===Anatomical target===
===Middle Ages===
In [[Medieval Europe]], the [[Byzantine Empire]] [[Blinding (punishment)|blinded]] and [[Rhinectomy|removed the noses]] of some criminals and rival emperors. Their belief that the emperor should be physically ideal meant that such disfigurement notionally disqualified the recipient from office. (The second reign of [[Justinian II|Justinian the Slit-nosed]] was the notable exception.) Elsewhere, corporal punishment was encouraged by the attitudes of the [[History of the Catholic Church|Catholic church]] towards the human body, [[flagellation]] being a common means of self-discipline. This had an influence on the use of corporal punishment in schools, as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. Nevertheless, corporal punishment was not used uncritically; as early as the 11th century [[Anselm of Canterbury|Saint Anselm]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] was speaking out against what he saw as the excessive use of corporal punishment in the treatment of children.<ref>Wicksteed, Joseph H. ''The Challenge of Childhood: An Essay on Nature and Education'', Chapman & Hall, London, 1936, pp. 34–35. {{OCLC|3085780}}</ref>
A crucial, inevitable choice is which part of the body is to suffer the painful treatment; sometimes a combination of several targets is chosen, so as to maximize the longer-lasting discomfort.
Several considerations can be taken into account, mainly : how painful is it, how humiliating (especially if bared), how safe (except for deliberate mutilation -such as amputation and branding- or execution, grave permanent damage must be avoided) and how incapacitating (unless the punishee is already under custodial sentence other then [[hard labor]], physically disabling the victim to work is rather contraproductive in stead of coercing better -obedient, productive- conduct).


===Modernity===
* By far the most popular choice (i.e. with disciplinarians: they choose) are the [[buttock]]s, indeed some languages have a specific word for their chastisement : [[spanking]] (see this elaborate article) in English, ''fessée'' in French, ''nalgada'' in Spanish (both romanesque words directly derived from the word for buttock)- this is a logical choice for these rather large, fleshy body parts are sensitive without endagering any bodily functions, heal well and relatively fast and have an intimate connotation that implies intense humilitation, often increased as baring them often also exposes the genitals
From the 16th century onwards, new trends were seen in corporal punishment. Judicial punishments were increasingly turned into public spectacles, with public beatings of criminals intended as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. Meanwhile, early writers on education, such as [[Roger Ascham]], complained of the arbitrary manner in which children were punished.<ref>Ascham, Roger. ''The scholemaster'', John Daye, London, 1571, p. 1. Republished by Constable, London, 1927. {{OCLC|10463182}}</ref>
* although lower parts of the back of the leg, notably thighs and calves, are reportedly about as sensitive, making them a logical alternative in cultures were a bare bottom is to indecent, they are rarely targetted
* except for deliberate mutilation, the genitalia are rarely targetted, though very sensitive and most humiliating, for the damage is to hard to control (except with sophisticated modern methods such as electrodes)
* joints (such as knees) are an even more illogical, indeed rather rare choice: no humiliation, grave risk of incapacitation and even permanent damage
* the head is also a dangerous choice, but more popular, especailly the cheeks (relatively safe; indeed the same word is used for the bottom: butt-cheeks) and boxing the ears (hearing disability tends to manifest itself years later, so it's often ignored)
* the back and the shoulders are the second most common choice; as long as the spine (paralysis possible) and excessive abuse of the kidneys (irreparable) is avoided, great pain is possible with limited incapacitation and humiliation (suitable for an adult 'honor corps' as often in the military)
* the abdomen and the ribs are again rather dangerous for 'acceidental' damage, and hence not a common target


Peter Newell writes that perhaps the most influential writer on the subject was the English philosopher [[John Locke]], whose ''[[Some Thoughts Concerning Education]]'' explicitly criticised the central role of corporal punishment in education. Locke's work was highly influential, and may have helped influence Polish legislators to ban corporal punishment from Poland's schools in 1783, the first country in the world to do so.<ref>Newell, Peter (ed.). ''A Last Resort? Corporal Punishment in Schools'', Penguin, London, 1972, p. 9 {{ISBN|0140806989}}</ref>
===Set and props===
[[File:Women&#039;s prison punishment (early modern era).jpg|thumb|Corporal punishment in a women's prison in the United States (ca. 1890)]]
Except for 'daily' light punishment, physical discipline is often ritualized, even staged in a rather theatrical fashion.
[[File:Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, Supplice des batogues (c. 1765–1766).png|thumb|right|210px|[[Batog]], corporal punishment in the Russian Empire]]
[[File:Husaga (teckning av Fritz von Dardel).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Husaga (the right of the master of the household to corporally punish his servants) was outlawed in [[Sweden]] for adults in 1858.]]
A consequence of this mode of thinking was a reduction in the use of corporal punishment in the 19th century in Europe and North America. In some countries this was encouraged by scandals involving individuals seriously hurt during acts of corporal punishment. For instance, in Britain, popular opposition to punishment was encouraged by two significant cases, the death of [[Death of Frederick John White|Private Frederick John White]], who died after a military [[flogging]] in 1846,<ref>Barretts, C.R.B. [http://www.thequeensownhussars.co.uk/fjwhite.htm ''The History of The 7th Queen's Own Hussars Vol. II''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003161113/http://www.thequeensownhussars.co.uk/fjwhite.htm |date=3 October 2011 }}.</ref> and the [[Eastbourne manslaughter|death of Reginald Cancellor]], killed by his schoolmaster in 1860.<ref>Middleton, Jacob (2005). "Thomas Hopley and mid-Victorian attitudes to corporal punishment". ''History of Education''.</ref> Events such as these mobilised public opinion and, by the late nineteenth century, the extent of corporal punishment's use in state schools was unpopular with many parents in England.<ref name="historytoday">Middleton, Jacob (November 2012). [http://www.historytoday.com/jacob-middleton/spare-rod "Spare the Rod"]. ''History Today'' (London).</ref> Authorities in Britain and some other countries introduced more detailed rules for the infliction of corporal punishment in government institutions such as schools, prisons and reformatories. By the First World War, parents' complaints about disciplinary excesses in England had died down, and corporal punishment was established as an expected form of school discipline.<ref name="historytoday"/>


In the 1870s, courts in the United States overruled the common-law principle that a husband had the right to "physically chastise an errant wife".<ref>Calvert, R. "Criminal and civil liability in husband-wife assaults", in ''Violence in the family'' (Suzanne K. Steinmetz and Murray A. Straus, eds.), Harper & Row, New York, 1974. {{ISBN|0-396-06864-2}}</ref> In the UK, the traditional right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife in order to keep her "within the bounds of duty" was similarly removed in 1891.<ref>[http://www.lawteacher.net/family-law-resources/domestic-violence.php ''R. v Jackson''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907012332/http://www.lawteacher.net/family-law-resources/domestic-violence.php |date=7 September 2014 }}, [1891] 1 QB 671, abstracted at LawTeacher.net.</ref><ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Corporal Punishment |volume=7 |pages=189–190}}</ref> See [[Domestic violence]] for more information.
As the great variety of practices, even in similar jurisdictions, suggests, tradition and the taste of the punishing parties in place often carry at least as much weight as obejective practical considerations, especially if one cosiders there seems to have been relatively little effort to obtain functional knowledge from systematic comparative research.


In the United Kingdom, the use of judicial corporal punishment declined during the first half of the twentieth century and it was abolished altogether in the [[Criminal Justice Act 1948|Criminal Justice Act, 1948 (zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58.)]], whereby whipping and flogging were outlawed except for use in very serious internal prison discipline cases,<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1948/58%20/pdfs/ukpga_19480058_en.pdf Criminal Justice Act, 1948] zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58., pp. 54–55.</ref> while most other European countries had abolished it earlier. Meanwhile, in many schools, the use of the cane, paddle or [[tawse]] remained commonplace in the UK and the United States until the 1980s. In rural areas of the Southern United States, and in several other countries, it still is: see [[School corporal punishment]].
=====Site & Location=====
While light and informal punishment is often administered on the spot, for serious discipline and in an institutional context there are often rules, either laid down as such or deriving from written rules (e.g. if a juvenile is to recieve his lashing from the police, he is logically brought there for punishment).


== International treaties ==
====Apparatus====
===Human rights===
Contraptions the punishee is to be over, on and/or fixed to do not only have a practical function (which is their origin) during punishment but can also be left in place as a permanent, dissuasive display of the authority to inflict painful punishment, to deter disobedience that may cause the observing 'jurisdictional subject' to end up there for a lashing.
Key developments related to corporal punishment occurred in the late 20th century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment are emphasised.
* [[Falaka]]
* 1950: [[European Convention of Human Rights]], [[Council of Europe]].<ref>This applies to the 47 members of the Council of Europe, an entirely separate body from the European Union, which has only 28 member states.</ref> Article 3 bans "[[inhuman or degrading treatment]] or punishment".
* frame
** '''1978''': [[European Court of Human Rights]], overseeing its implementation, rules that judicial birching of a juvenile breaches Article 3.<ref>[http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children] (2012). Retrieved 1 May 2012. "Key Judgements." The ruling concerned the Isle of Man, a UK Crown Dependency.</ref>
* punishment horse
* 1985: [[Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice]], or Beijing Rules, [[United Nations]] ([[United Nations|UN]]). Rule 17.3: "Juveniles shall not be subject to corporal punishment."
* tresle
** '''1990''' Supplement: ''Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty''. Rule 67: "...all disciplinary measures constituting cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment shall be strictly prohibited, including corporal punishment..."
* '''1990''': ''Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency'', the Riyadh Guidelines, UN. Paragraph 21(h): education systems should avoid "harsh disciplinary measures, particularly corporal punishment."
* 1966: [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], UN, with currently 167 parties, 74 signatories.<ref>UN (2012) "4 . [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901184638/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en |date=1 September 2010 }}," United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 7: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment..."
** '''1992''': [[United Nations Human Rights Committee|Human Rights Committee]], overseeing its implementation, comments: "the prohibition must extend to corporal punishment . . . in this regard . . . article 7 protects, in particular, children, . . .."<ref>UN Human Rights Committee (1992) [http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom20.htm "General Comment No. 20".] HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4.: p. 108</ref>
* 1984: [[United Nations Convention Against Torture|Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment]], UN, with currently 150 parties and 78 signatories.<ref>UN (2012) "9 . [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&lang=en Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108052518/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&lang=en |date=8 November 2010 }}. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
** '''1996''': [[United Nations Convention against Torture#Committee against Torture|Committee Against Torture]], overseeing its implementation, condemns corporal punishment.<ref>UN (1996) General Assembly Official Records, Fiftieth Session, A/50/44, 1995: par. 177, and A/51/44, 1996: par. 65(i).</ref>
* 1966: [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], UN, with currently 160 parties, and 70 signatories.<ref>UN (2012). 3. [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917040858/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en |date=17 September 2012 }} United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 13(1): "education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity..."
** '''1999''': [[Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], overseeing its implementation, comments: "corporal punishment is inconsistent with the fundamental guiding principle of international human rights law . . . the dignity of the individual."<ref>UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999) "General Comment on 'The Right to Education'," HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4: 73.</ref>
* 1961: [[European Social Charter]], Council of Europe.
** '''2001''': [[European Committee of Social Rights]], overseeing its implementation, concludes: it is not "acceptable that a society which prohibits any form of physical violence between adults would accept that adults subject children to physical violence."<ref>European Committee of Social Rights 2001. "Conclusions XV – 2," Vol. 1.</ref>


====Implements====
===Children's rights===
{{Youth rights sidebar}}
With any attempt to classify these, one must keep in mind that terminology is (ab)used with striking inconsistency from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, may change over time and can even by rather indeterminate within one at one time. Thus implements are either given names rather typical for another (e.g. normally in another material), or to general to determine either in particular, such as [[Flagellation]]
The notion of [[children's rights]] in the [[Western world]] developed in the 20th century, but the issue of corporal punishment was not addressed generally before mid-century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment of children are emphasised.
While in various linking articles some such details are touched, as well as common types within (as by size, a measure of severity), here we limit ourselves to an oversight of the common types, by their 'normal' design and materials, even omitting miost significant modifications (such as knots or other small, hard objects fixed on leather to make it 'bite' the flesh).
* 1923: ''Children's Rights Proclamation'' by [[Save the Children]] founder. (5 articles).
** 1924 Adopted as the ''World Child Welfare Charter'', [[League of Nations]] (non-enforceable).
* 1959: [[Declaration of the Rights of the Child]], ([[United Nations|UN]]) (10 articles; non-binding).
* 1989: [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]], UN (54 articles; binding treaty), with currently 193 parties and 140 signatories.<ref>UN (2012). 11. [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en Convention on the Rights of the Child] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211151110/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en |date=11 February 2014 }}. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 19.1: "States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation . . . ."
** '''2006''': [[Committee on the Rights of the Child]], overseeing its implementation, comments: there is an "obligation of all States Party to move quickly to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment."<ref>UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) "General Comment No. 8:" par. 3. However, Article 19 of the Convention makes no reference to corporal punishment, and the Committee's interpretation on this point has been explicitly rejected by several States Party to the Convention, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.</ref>
** 2011: [[Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure|Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure]] allowing individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights.<ref>UN OHCHR (2012). [http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/index.htm Committee on the Rights of the Child]. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
* 2006: Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General to the UN General Assembly.<ref>UN (2006) "Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General". United Nations, A/61/299. See further: UN (2012e). [http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308135228/http://www.srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/ |date=8 March 2022 }}. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
* 2007: Post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children established.<ref>UN (2007) United Nations General Assembly, A/RES/62/141. The United States was the only country to vote against. There were no abstentions.</ref>


== Modern use ==
Here we try to group the common types.
{{Main|School corporal punishment| Judicial corporal punishment|Corporal punishment in the home}}
[[File:Corporal punishment in the world.svg|thumb|Laws on corporal punishments in the world{{legend|green|Prohibited altogether}}{{legend|yellow|Prohibited in schools}}{{legend|orange|Not prohibited in schools nor in a home, but prohibited in at least one setting}}{{legend|red|Not prohibited at any setting}}{{legend|purple|Depends on state (USA)}}]]
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 200
| image1 = School corporal punishment USA map.svg
| caption1 = [[School corporal punishment in the United States]]<br>
[[Corporal punishment of minors in the United States]]<br>
<!--{{legend|#09c70d|Corporal punishment prohibited in schools and the home}}-->{{legend|#0000ff|Corporal punishment prohibited in public schools}} {{legend|#ff0000|Corporal punishment not prohibited in public schools}}
| image2 = Corporal punishment in Europe.svg
| caption2 = Legality of corporal punishment of minors in Europe
----
{{legend|#09c70d|Corporal punishment banned altogether}}
{{legend|#0000d8|Corporal punishment banned in schools only}}
{{legend|#c70909|Corporal punishment not prohibited in schools or in the home}}
}}


===Legal status===
{{see also|Child corporal punishment laws}}


67 countries, most of them in [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]], have prohibited any corporal punishment of children.
# [[Bastinado]]
* wooden implements:
# rods, also virge, wand etcetera:
##[[Birching]] uses a rod made from strong, flexible branches in their natutal state, normally several bound together
## for a single one the normal term is [[switch (rod)]]
# [[Caning]] uses a single thick, yet still bending bamboo stem, notable of the -very durable- species of rottan = rattan, polished
# a [[Paddle (spanking)|Paddle]]


The earliest recorded attempt to prohibit corporal punishment of children by a state dates back to [[Poland]] in 1783.<ref name="Abolishing">{{cite book |title=Abolishing corporal punishment of children: questions and answers |date=2007 |publisher=Council of Europe |location=Strasbourg |isbn=978-9-287-16310-3 |url= http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/corporalpunishment/pdf/EnglishQuestionAnswer_en.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140809054408/http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/corporalpunishment/pdf/EnglishQuestionAnswer_en.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>{{rp|31–2}} However, its prohibition in all spheres of life – in homes, schools, the penal system and alternative care settings – occurred first in 1966 in Sweden. The 1979 Swedish Parental Code reads: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment."<ref name="Abolishing"/>{{rp|32}}
* leather:
# [[belting]] uses a belt as worn in clothing
# [[strap]] or similar stirrup leather is thicker and less flexible
# the [[tawse]] is like a strap but forks at one end into two or more tails
# [[crop]]
# [[whip]] and a myriad of variations, including the famous sjambok
# [[scourge]] and [[martinet]] consist of several independently moving tails or short lashes


{{as of|2021}}, corporal punishment of children by parents (or other adults) is outlawed altogether in 63 nations (including the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo) and 3 constituent nations.<ref name="Countries Prohib">{{Cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/ |title=States which have prohibited all corporal punishment |publisher=Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children |website=www.endcorporalpunishment.org|date=29 January 2018 }}</ref>
* rope or cord:
# [[cat o' nine tails]] and its diminutive the reduced cat
# [[flogger]] is designed like a martinet


{| class="wikitable sortable"
*metal:
|+ Countries that have completely prohibited corporal punishment of children:<ref name="Countries Prohib"/>
# axe, knife, sword and other blanc weapons or even the surgical scalpel etc are generally used for punishments named otherwise than by the instrument, rather by the damage down by cutting bodyparts, as in [[flailing]], [[castration]] or (indetermined) [[amputation]]
! scope="col" | Country
# a hot iron is used for branding and other burns
! scope="col" | Year
|-
|{{SWE}} || 1979
|-
|{{FIN}} || 1983
|-
|{{NOR}} || 1987
|-
|{{AUT}} || 1989
|-
|{{CYP}} || 1994
|-
|{{DEN}} || 1997
|-
|{{POL}} || 1997
|-
|{{flag|Latvia}} || 1998
|-
|{{GER}} || 1998
|-
|{{CRO}} || 1999
|-
|{{flag|Bulgaria}} || 2000
|-
|{{ISR}} || 2000
|-
|{{flag|Turkmenistan}} || 2002
|-
|{{flag|Iceland}} || 2003
|-
|{{flag|Ukraine}} || 2004
|-
|{{ROM}} || 2004
|-
|{{HUN}} || 2005
|-
|{{flag|Greece}} || 2006
|-
|{{flag|New Zealand}} || 2007
|-
|{{NED}} || 2007
|-
|{{POR}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Uruguay}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Venezuela}} || 2007
|-
|{{ESP}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Togo}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Costa Rica}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Moldova}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Luxembourg}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Liechtenstein}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Tunisia}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Kenya}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Congo, Republic of}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Albania}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|South Sudan}} || 2011
|-
|{{flag|North Macedonia}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Cabo Verde}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Honduras}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Malta}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Brazil}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Bolivia}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Argentina}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|San Marino}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Nicaragua}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Estonia}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Andorra}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Benin}} || 2015
|-
|{{IRL}} || 2015
|-
|{{flag|Peru}} || 2015
|-
|{{flag|Mongolia}} || 2016
|-
|{{MNE}} || 2016
|-
|{{flag|Paraguay}} || 2016
|-
|''{{flag|Aruba}}'' || 2016<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/news/10/2017/aruba-has-prohibited-all-corporal-punishment-of-children.html |title=Aruba has prohibited all corporal punishment of children - Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children |access-date=6 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306202923/http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/news/10/2017/aruba-has-prohibited-all-corporal-punishment-of-children.html |archive-date=6 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Slovenia}} || 2016
|-
|{{flag|Lithuania}} || 2017
|-
|{{flag|Nepal}} || 2018
|-
|{{flag|Kosovo}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|France}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|South Africa}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|Jersey}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|Georgia}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Japan}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Seychelles}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Scotland}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Guinea}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|Colombia}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|South Korea}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|Wales}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Zambia}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Cuba}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Mauritius}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Laos}} || 2024<ref>{{cite press release |url= https://www.unicef.org/laos/press-releases/lao-pdr-historic-ban-corporal-punishment |date=30 April 2024 |title=Lao PDR on Historic Ban of Corporal Punishment |publisher=Unicef |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref>


|-
* other materials, or no typically predominant one:
|{{flag|Tajikistan}} || 2024<ref>{{cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/tajikistanprohibitsallcorporalpunishment/ |date=28 August 2024 |title=Tajikistan prohibits all corporal punishment of children |publisher= End Corporal Punishment |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref>
# [[ruler]]
# [[strop]]
# [[slippering]]
# [[hairbrush]] (wooden or ebony backside)


|}
* [[pervertible]]s are various objects than can be used as punitive implement (mainly in [[BDSM]] or the private sphere open to improvization), so we don't go into detail; when used for coercive CP, they are generally handled as a rather obvious substitute for a similar type from the groups above- the most common are included, and ultimately nearly every implement is derived from an inoffensive utility


For a more detailed overview of the global use and prohibition of the corporal punishment of children, see the following table.
===Dramatis personae===
While a summary punishment can routinely be performed with only two participants, e.g. an educator putting a naughty child over his lap and spanking its bottom while scolding its misdeeds, there is often, especially with a more severe punishment and/or in an institutional context, a more elaborate and formalistic procedure can involve a small host of cast members, most of whom can make a difference to what exactly will happen and how
====On the punishing side ====
* It all starts with the authority to punish : for judicial punishment, this is normally the legislator, who defines the rules, at least in principle, as to which inacceptable actions are to be met with painful punishment, and who can apply them; the rules can be extremely precise, or at least aim to be, in determining a concordance between crime and punishment, or leave considerable margin; sometimes a specific case is dealt with at this very level, as for a political crime; in other spheres, often within general ruleslaid down by the actual legislator, the rules can be laid down by the school board, the master of the slaves/household, etcetera. However in real life minor punishments are often left to the ad hoc discretion of the discipliner, even where severe punishments have to be met with formal procedure- e.g.
* Next there is the role of the judge, who determines for each punishable dead wether the conditions for application are met and fixes the fitting punishment; this judgment can go into more details, usually including (possibly simply repeating the specifications in the rules, sometimes modifying those) the anatomical target, the implement, the number of strokes, and wether the victim will be bared; in the non-judical spheres, this can be for example the teacher in class or the headmaster, dean of discipine etcetera (often only for graver offenses), an overseeer, any officer or subaltern, etcetera
* Finally there is the actual punishment officer(s) charged with the physical execution; while in private spheres this is often the same as the 'judge', judicial sentences are generally ordered to be carried out by a third party specified by the law or in the judgment, usually the police, (para)military, prison staff or even a bailiff; imprecise judgments may leave some discretion to this level, e.g. determining with which implement to administer a punishment merely expressed in an ambivalent wording such as 'lashes', leaving a choice from the customary arsenal of implements, definitely affecting the gravity of the beating
====The victim====
The punished party is often described by terms referring to his legal or other punishable status, e.g. convict, prisoner, culprit, miscreant, offender, or to the type of punishment imposed, e.g. spankee, whippee.
While he is the centre of attention, as a rule little or no choice is given to him (or if so it's often meant to be tantalizing, neither option being preferable, e.g. a graver implement or more cuts), and his submission or cooperation is coerced, e.g. extra swats for not maintaining the position
====Third parties ====
* medical examinator, supervisor and/or assistance
* witnesses
===Procedure===
For further details on positions and sequence of actions, see under [[Spanking#What and how|spanking]] : most is identical or derives logicaly from what is said there


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
==See also==
|+ ''Summary of the number of countries prohibiting corporal punishment of children''<ref name="Countries Prohib"/>
* [[Child abuse]]
|-
* [[Domestic violence]]
| rowspan="2" |
* [[Emotional abuse]]
| rowspan="2" | '''Home'''
* [[Judicial corporal punishment]]
| rowspan="2" | '''Schools'''
* [[Keelhauling]]
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | '''Penal system'''
* [[Mortification of the flesh]]
| rowspan="2" | '''Alternative care settings'''
* [[School discipline]]
|-
*
| '''As sentence for crime'''
* [[Spanking Therapy]]
| '''As disciplinary measure'''
|-
| '''Prohibited'''
| 67
| 130
| 156
| 117
| 39
|-
| '''Not prohibited'''
| 131
| 68
| 41
| 77
| 159
|-
| '''Legality unknown''' || – || – || 1 || 4 || –
|}


===Corporal punishment in the home===
==External links==
{{Main|Corporal punishment in the home}}
* [[http://www.corpun.com/index.htm| vast, constantly growing website entirely devoted to various forms of corporal punishment in various countries and circles, combining press reports, legislation, testimony etcetera]]
[[File:Ending physical punishment in Wales - English version.webm|thumb|An overview of the [[Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020|Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment Act 2020]], which ends the physical punishment of children everywhere in Wales, including the home]]
* [http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/society/children.htm Nordics first to ban corporal punishment on children]
Domestic corporal punishment (i.e. the punishment of children by their parents) is often referred to colloquially as "[[spanking]]", "smacking", or "slapping".

It has been outlawed in an increasing number of countries, starting with Sweden in 1979.<ref name="Durrant 1996">{{cite book |last=Durrant |first=Joan E. |editor1=Frehsee, Detlev |display-editors=etal|title=Family Violence Against Children: A Challenge for Society |date=1996 |location=Berlin |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-014996-6 |pages=19–25 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8IyJkWAAXjkC&q=%22swedish+ban+on+corporal+punishment%22 |chapter=The Swedish Ban on Corporal Punishment: Its History and Effects}}</ref><ref name="Countries Prohib" /> In some other countries, corporal punishment is legal, but restricted (e.g. blows to the head are outlawed, implements may not be used, only children within a certain age range may be spanked).

In all states of the United States and most African and Asian nations, corporal punishment by parents is legal. It is also legal to use certain implements (e.g. a belt or a paddle).

In Canada, spanking by parents or legal guardians (but nobody else) is legal, with certain restrictions: the child must be between the ages of 2–12, and no implement other than an open, bare hand may be used (belts, paddles, etc. are prohibited). It is also illegal to strike the head when disciplining a child.<ref>{{cite web |title=To spank or not to spank? |url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/to-spank-or-not-to-spank-1.795385 |publisher=CBC News |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=17 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barnett |first=Laura |title=The "Spanking" Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code |url= http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0510-e.htm |publisher=Parliament of Canada |access-date=17 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121016094817/http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0510-e.htm |archive-date=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the UK (except Scotland and Wales), spanking or smacking is legal, but it must not cause an injury amounting to actual bodily harm (any injury such as visible bruising, breaking of the whole skin, etc.). In addition, in Scotland, since October 2003, it has been illegal to use any implements or to strike the head when disciplining a child, and it is also prohibited to use corporal punishment towards children under the age of 3 years. In 2019, Scotland enacted a ban on corporal punishment, which went into effect in 2020. Wales also enacted a ban in 2020, which has gone into effect in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 March 2022 |title=Wales introduces ban on smacking and slapping children |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/21/wales-introduces-ban-on-smacking-and-slapping-children |access-date=21 March 2022 |website=The Guardian |location= London}}</ref>

In Pakistan, Section 89 of Pakistan Penal Code allows corporal punishment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wajeeh |first1=Ul Hassan |title=Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) |url= http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/1860/actXLVof1860.html |access-date=8 February 2017 }}</ref>

In 2024, children's doctors urged ministers to ban smacking children in England and Northern Ireland as their report warned that children suffer physically and mentally after being hit in their home. However, the UK government stated there were no plans to change the law on smacking in England and said it would observe the impact of legal amendments in Scotland and Wales.<ref>{{cite news |last=Roxby |first=Philippa |title=Protect children from smacking in England and Northern Ireland, say doctors |date=16 April 2024 |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/health-68827782 |website=BBC News |access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>

===Corporal punishment in schools===
{{Main|School corporal punishment}}
Corporal punishment in schools has been outlawed in many countries. It often involves striking the student on the buttocks or the palm of the hand with an implement (e.g. a [[Caning|rattan cane]] or a [[spanking paddle]]).

In countries where corporal punishment is still allowed in schools, there may be restrictions; for example, school caning in Singapore and Malaysia is, in theory, permitted for boys only.

In India and many other countries, corporal punishment has technically been abolished by law. However, corporal punishment continues to be practised on boys and girls in many schools around the world. Cultural perceptions of corporal punishment have rarely been studied and researched. One study carried out discusses how corporal punishment is perceived among parents and students in India.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ghosh |first1=Arijit |last2=Pasupathi |first2=Madhumathi |date=18 August 2016 |title= Perceptions of Students and Parents on the Use of Corporal Punishment at Schools in India |url= http://rupkatha.com/V8/n3/28_Corporal_Punishment_Schools.pdf |journal=Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=269–280 |doi=10.21659/rupkatha.v8n3.28|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Medical professionals have urged putting an end to the practice, noting the danger of injury to children's hands especially.<ref>[http://www.nospank.net/hands.htm "Corporal Punishment to Children's Hands"],
A Statement by Medical Authorities as to the Risks, January 2002.</ref>

===Judicial or quasi-judicial punishment===
{{main|Judicial corporal punishment}}
[[File:Map of judicial corporal punishment.svg|thumb|{{legend|#ca2c92|Countries with judicial corporal punishment}}]]
[[File:Taliban beating woman in public RAWA.jpg|right|thumb|A member of the Taliban's [[Mutaween#Other groups|religious police]] beating an Afghan woman in [[Kabul]] on 26 August 2001]]
Around 33 countries in the world still retain judicial corporal punishment, including a number of former British territories such as Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore and Tanzania. In Singapore, for certain specified offences, males are routinely sentenced to [[Caning in Singapore|caning]] in addition to a prison term. The Singaporean practice of caning became much discussed around the world in 1994 when American teenager [[Michael P. Fay]] received four strokes of the cane for vandalism. Judicial caning and whipping are also used in [[Aceh Province]] in Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKirdy |first1=Euan |title=Gay men, adulterers publicly flogged in Aceh, Indonesia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/14/asia/indonesia-banda-aceh-public-flogging-intl/index.html |access-date=15 July 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=14 July 2018}}</ref>

A number of other countries with an Islamic legal system, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran, Brunei, Sudan, and some northern states in Nigeria, employ judicial whipping for a range of offences. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court ended the flogging punishment from its court system, and replaced it with jail time or fines.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425000301/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2020|title=Saudi Arabia to end flogging as form of punishment - document|date=24 April 2020|work=Reuters|access-date=25 April 2020|language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2009}}, some regions of Pakistan are experiencing a breakdown of law and government, leading to a reintroduction of corporal punishment by ''ad hoc'' Islamicist courts.<ref>Walsh, Declan. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/02/taliban-pakistan-justice-women-flogging "Video of girl's flogging as Taliban hand out justice"], ''The Guardian'', London, 2 April 2009.</ref> As well as corporal punishment, some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran use other kinds of [[Physical punishment|physical penalties]] such as [[amputation]] or [[mutilation]].<ref>Campaign against the Arms Trade, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmfaff/145/145we10.htm Evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs], London, January 2005.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03mon2.html?_r=1 "Lashing Justice"], Editorial, ''The New York Times'', 3 December 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/12/08/saudi-arabia-court-orders-eye-be-gouged-out "Saudi Arabia: Court Orders Eye to Be Gouged Out"], Human Rights Watch, 8 December 2005.</ref> However, the term "corporal punishment" has since the 19th century usually meant [[caning]], [[flagellation]] or bastinado rather than those other types of physical penalty.<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], 2nd edition, 1989, "corporal punishment: punishment inflicted on the body; originally including death, mutilation, branding, bodily confinement, irons, the pillory, etc. (as opposed to a fine or punishment in estate or rank). In 19th c. usually confined to flogging or similar infliction of bodily pain."</ref><ref>"Physical punishment such as caning or flogging" – Concise Oxford Dictionary.</ref><ref>"... inflicted on the body, esp. by beating." – Oxford American Dictionary of Current English.</ref><ref name="arnoldbaker">"mostly a euphemism for the enforcement of discipline by applying canes, whips or birches to the buttocks." – Charles Arnold-Baker, ''The Companion to British History'', Routledge, 2001.</ref><ref>"Physical punishment such as beating or caning" – Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.</ref><ref>"Punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating." – Collins English Dictionary.</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861688382/corporal_punishment.html "the striking of somebody's body as punishment"] – Encarta World English Dictionary, MSN. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901160044/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861688382/corporal_punishment.html Archived] 31 October 2009.</ref>

In some countries, [[foot whipping]] (''bastinado'') is still practised on prisoners.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2014/08/confirming-torture-use-imaging-victims-falanga |title=Confirming Torture: The Use of Imaging in Victims of Falanga |date=6 August 2014 |work=Forensic Magazine |access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>

==Effects==
According to a study headed by Harvard researchers, corporal punishment like spanking could affect the brain development of children. These effects are similar to the more severe form of violence.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/spanking-children-may-impair-their-brain-development/ | title=Spanking children may impair their brain development | date=12 April 2021 }}</ref> Corporal punishment is associated with physical injury and abuse, it erodes parent-child relationships, reduces cognitive abilities and IQ scores, leads to mental health problems including depression and anxiety, and it increases adult aggression and anti-social behaviors.<ref>{{cite journal | title=More Harm Than Good: A Summary Of Scientific Research On The Intended And Unintended Effects Of Corporal Punishment On Children - PMC | date=25 August 2021 | pmc=8386132 | last1=Gershoff | first1=E. T. | journal=Law and Contemporary Problems | volume=73 | issue=2 | pages=31–56 | pmid=34446972 }}</ref>

== Rituals ==
In parts of England, boys were once beaten under the old tradition of "[[Beating the Bounds]]" whereby a boy was paraded around the edge of a city or parish and spanked with a switch or cane to mark the boundary.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/3675676.stm "Mayor may axe child spanking rite"], BBC News Online, 21 September 2004.</ref> One famous "Beating the Bounds" took place around the boundary of St Giles and the area where [[Tottenham Court Road]] now stands in central London. The actual stone that marked the boundary is now underneath the [[Centre Point]] office tower.<ref>Ackroyd, Peter. ''London: The Biography'', Chatto & Windus, London, 2000. {{ISBN|1-85619-716-6}}</ref>

In the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], and some parts of [[Hungary]], a tradition for health and fertility is carried out on [[Easter Monday]]. Boys and young men will spank or whip girls and young women on the bottom with braided willow branches. After the man sings the verse, the young woman turns around and the man takes a few whacks at her backside with the whip. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://magicbohemia.com/2019/04/15/whipping-away-infertility-on-easter/|title=Whipping away infertility at Easter|last=babastudio|website=Bohemian Magic|language=en-US|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.incultureparent.com/2012/03/whats-easter-without-a-whipping/|title=What's Easter without a Whipping?|last=Prucha|first=Emily|date=31 March 2012|website=InCultureParent|language=en-US|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[File:Piero - The Flagellation.jpg|thumb|200px| ''The Flagellation'', by Piero della Francesca]]
'''Art'''
* '' [[Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|The Flagellation]]'', (c.1455–70), by [[Piero della Francesca]]. Christ is lashed while [[Pontius Pilate]] looks on.
* ''The Whipping'', (1941), by [[Horace Pippin]]. A figure tied to a whipping post is flogged.<ref>[http://www.reynoldahouse.org/collections/object/the-whipping]| Reynolda House Museum of American Art</ref>

'''Film and TV'''

See: List of films and TV containing corporal punishment scenes.

== See also ==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Campaigns against corporal punishment]]
* [[Chastisement]]
* [[Child discipline]]
* [[Disfigurement]]
* [[Hotsaucing]]
* [[Physical abuse]]
* [[School violence]]
* [[Tough love]]
* [[Virge]]
* [[Washing out mouth with soap]]
}}

== References ==
{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* Barathan, Gopal; ''The Caning of Michael Fay'', (1995). A contemporary account of an American teenager ( [[Michael P. Fay]] ) caned for vandalism in Singapore.
* Gates, Jay Paul and Marafioti, Nicole; (eds.), ''Capital and Corporal Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England'', (2014). Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
* Moskos, Peter; ''In Defence of Flogging'', (2011). An argument that flogging might be better than jail time.
* Scott, George; '' A History of Corporal Punishment'', (1996).

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/spanking.htm "Spanking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104205059/http://www.religioustolerance.org/spanking.htm |date=4 January 2011 }} (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090119085949/http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=laws-main Center for Effective Discipline (USA)]
* [http://www.corpun.com World Corporal Punishment Research]
* [http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children]
* [http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children]


{{Substantive human rights}}
[[Category:Corporal punishments]]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:BDSM]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Corporal Punishment}}
[[de:Körperstrafe]]
[[Category:Corporal punishments| ]]
[[fr:Châtiment corporel]]
[[ko:체벌]]
[[ja:体罰]]
[[ne:lijfstraf]]
[[sv:Aga]]

Latest revision as of 22:28, 18 December 2024

Not to be confused with Capital punishment.
This article is about the infliction of bodily pain as a form of punishment. For other uses, see Corporal punishment (disambiguation).

Part of a series on
Corporal punishment
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Campaigns against corporal punishment

A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or paddling. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on prisoners and slaves, and can involve methods such as whipping with a belt or a horsewhip.

Physical punishments for crimes or injuries, including floggings, brandings and even mutilations, were practised in most civilizations since ancient times. They have increasingly been viewed as inhumane since the development of humanitarianism ideals after the Enlightenment, especially in the Western world. By the late 20th century, corporal punishment was eliminated from the legal systems of most developed countries.[1]

The legality of corporal punishment in various settings differs by jurisdiction. Internationally, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the application of human rights law to the question of corporal punishment in a number of contexts:

  • Corporal punishment in the home, the punishment of children by parents or other adult guardians, is legal in most of the world. As of 2023, 65 countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, have banned the practice.[2]
  • School corporal punishment, of students by teachers or school administrators, such as caning or paddling, has been banned in many countries, including Canada, Kenya, South Africa, New Zealand and all of Europe. It remains legal, if increasingly less common, in some states of the United States and in some countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.
  • Judicial corporal punishment, such as whipping or caning, as part of a criminal sentence ordered by a court of law, has long disappeared from most European countries.[3] As of 2021, it remains lawful in parts of Africa, Asia, the Anglophone Caribbean and indigenous communities in several countries of South America.[3]
  • Prison corporal punishment or disciplinary corporal punishment, ordered by prison authorities or carried out directly by correctional officers against the inmates for misconduct in custody, has long been common practice in penal institutions worldwide. It has officially been banned in most Western civilizations during the 20th century, but is still employed in many other countries today. Punishments such as paddling, foot whipping or different forms of flagellation have been commonplace methods of corporal punishment within prisons. This was also common practice in the Australian penal colonies and prison camps of the Nazi regime in Germany.
  • Military corporal punishment is or was allowed in some settings in a few jurisdictions.

In many Western countries, medical and human rights organizations oppose the corporal punishment of children. Campaigns against corporal punishment have aimed to bring about legal reforms in order to ban the use of corporal punishment against minors in homes and schools.

History

[edit]

Prehistory

[edit]

Author Jared Diamond writes that hunter-gatherer societies have tended to use little corporal punishment whereas agricultural and industrial societies tend to use progressively more of it. Diamond suggests this may be because hunter-gatherers tend to have few valuable physical possessions, and misbehavior of the child would not cause harm to others' property.[4]

Researchers who have lived among the Parakanã and Ju/'hoansi people, as well as some Aboriginal Australians, have written about the absence of the physical punishment of children in those cultures.[5]

Wilson writes:

Probably the only generalization that can be made about the use of physical punishment among primitive tribes is that there was no common procedure [...] Pettit concludes that among primitive societies corporal punishment is rare, not because of the innate kindliness of these people but because it is contrary to developing the type of individual personality they set up as their ideal [...] An important point to be made here is that we cannot state that physical punishment as a motivational or corrective device is 'innate' to man.[6]

Antiquity

[edit]
Birching, Germany, 17th century
Depiction of a flogging at Oregon State Penitentiary, 1908

In the Western world, the corporal punishment of children has traditionally been used by adults in authority roles.[7] Beating one's son as a form of punishment is even recommended in the book of Proverbs:

He that spareth the rod, hateth his son; but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes. (Proverbs 13:24)

A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. (Proverbs 18:6)

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18)

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it from him. (Proverbs 22:15)

Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with a rod, thou shalt deliver his soul from hell. (Proverbs 23:13–14)

— [8][a]

Robert McCole Wilson argues that, "Probably this attitude comes, at least in part, from the desire in the patriarchal society for the elder to maintain his authority, where that authority was the main agent for social stability. But these are the words that not only justified the use of physical punishment on children for over a thousand years in Christian communities, but ordered it to be used. The words were accepted with but few exceptions; it is only in the last two hundred years that there has been a growing body of opinion that differed. Curiously, the gentleness of Christ towards children (Mark, X) was usually ignored".[10]

Foot whipping an offender, Persia, 1910s

Corporal punishment was practised in Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome in order to maintain judicial and educational discipline.[11] Disfigured Egyptian criminals were exiled to Tjaru and Rhinocorura on the Sinai border, a region whose name meant "cut-off noses." Corporal punishment was prescribed in ancient Israel, but it was limited to 40 lashes.[12] In China, some criminals were also disfigured but other criminals were tattooed. Some states gained a reputation for their cruel use of such punishments; Sparta, in particular, used them as part of a disciplinary regime which was designed to increase willpower and physical strength.[13] Although the Spartan example was extreme, corporal punishment was possibly the most frequent type of punishment. In the Roman Empire, the maximum penalty which a Roman citizen could receive under the law was 40 "lashes" or 40 "strokes" with a whip which was applied to the back and shoulders, or 40 lashes or strokes with the "fasces" (similar to a birch rod, but consisting of 8–10 lengths of willow rather than birch) which were applied to the buttocks. Such punishments could draw blood, and they were frequently inflicted in public.

Quintilian (c. 35 – c. 100) voiced some opposition to the use of corporal punishment. According to Wilson, "probably no more lucid indictment of it has been made in the succeeding two thousand years".[13]

By that boys should suffer corporal punishment, though it is received by custom, and Chrysippus makes no objection to it, I by no means approve; first, because it is a disgrace, and a punishment fit for slaves, and in reality (as will be evident if you imagine the age change) an affront; secondly, because, if a boy's disposition be so abject as not to be amended by reproof, he will be hardened, like the worst of slaves, even to stripes; and lastly, because, if one who regularly exacts his tasks be with him, there will not be the need of any chastisement (Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory, 1856 edition, I, III).[13]

Plutarch, also in the first century, writes:

This also I assert, that children ought to be led to honourable practices by means of encouragement and reasoning, and most certainly not by blows or ill-treatment, for it surely is agreed that these are fitting rather for slaves than for the free-born; for so they grow numb and shudder at their tasks, partly from the pain of the blows, partly from the degradation.[14]

Birching on the buttocks

Middle Ages

[edit]

In Medieval Europe, the Byzantine Empire blinded and removed the noses of some criminals and rival emperors. Their belief that the emperor should be physically ideal meant that such disfigurement notionally disqualified the recipient from office. (The second reign of Justinian the Slit-nosed was the notable exception.) Elsewhere, corporal punishment was encouraged by the attitudes of the Catholic church towards the human body, flagellation being a common means of self-discipline. This had an influence on the use of corporal punishment in schools, as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. Nevertheless, corporal punishment was not used uncritically; as early as the 11th century Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking out against what he saw as the excessive use of corporal punishment in the treatment of children.[15]

Modernity

[edit]

From the 16th century onwards, new trends were seen in corporal punishment. Judicial punishments were increasingly turned into public spectacles, with public beatings of criminals intended as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. Meanwhile, early writers on education, such as Roger Ascham, complained of the arbitrary manner in which children were punished.[16]

Peter Newell writes that perhaps the most influential writer on the subject was the English philosopher John Locke, whose Some Thoughts Concerning Education explicitly criticised the central role of corporal punishment in education. Locke's work was highly influential, and may have helped influence Polish legislators to ban corporal punishment from Poland's schools in 1783, the first country in the world to do so.[17]

Corporal punishment in a women's prison in the United States (ca. 1890)
Batog, corporal punishment in the Russian Empire
Husaga (the right of the master of the household to corporally punish his servants) was outlawed in Sweden for adults in 1858.

A consequence of this mode of thinking was a reduction in the use of corporal punishment in the 19th century in Europe and North America. In some countries this was encouraged by scandals involving individuals seriously hurt during acts of corporal punishment. For instance, in Britain, popular opposition to punishment was encouraged by two significant cases, the death of Private Frederick John White, who died after a military flogging in 1846,[18] and the death of Reginald Cancellor, killed by his schoolmaster in 1860.[19] Events such as these mobilised public opinion and, by the late nineteenth century, the extent of corporal punishment's use in state schools was unpopular with many parents in England.[20] Authorities in Britain and some other countries introduced more detailed rules for the infliction of corporal punishment in government institutions such as schools, prisons and reformatories. By the First World War, parents' complaints about disciplinary excesses in England had died down, and corporal punishment was established as an expected form of school discipline.[20]

In the 1870s, courts in the United States overruled the common-law principle that a husband had the right to "physically chastise an errant wife".[21] In the UK, the traditional right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife in order to keep her "within the bounds of duty" was similarly removed in 1891.[22][23] See Domestic violence for more information.

In the United Kingdom, the use of judicial corporal punishment declined during the first half of the twentieth century and it was abolished altogether in the Criminal Justice Act, 1948 (zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58.), whereby whipping and flogging were outlawed except for use in very serious internal prison discipline cases,[24] while most other European countries had abolished it earlier. Meanwhile, in many schools, the use of the cane, paddle or tawse remained commonplace in the UK and the United States until the 1980s. In rural areas of the Southern United States, and in several other countries, it still is: see School corporal punishment.

International treaties

[edit]

Human rights

[edit]

Key developments related to corporal punishment occurred in the late 20th century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment are emphasised.

Children's rights

[edit]
Youth rights
Activities
Theory / concepts
Issues
Organizations
People
Related

The notion of children's rights in the Western world developed in the 20th century, but the issue of corporal punishment was not addressed generally before mid-century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment of children are emphasised.

  • 1923: Children's Rights Proclamation by Save the Children founder. (5 articles).
    • 1924 Adopted as the World Child Welfare Charter, League of Nations (non-enforceable).
  • 1959: Declaration of the Rights of the Child, (UN) (10 articles; non-binding).
  • 1989: Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN (54 articles; binding treaty), with currently 193 parties and 140 signatories.[34] Article 19.1: "States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation . . . ."
  • 2006: Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General to the UN General Assembly.[37]
  • 2007: Post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children established.[38]

Modern use

[edit]
Main articles: School corporal punishment, Judicial corporal punishment, and Corporal punishment in the home
Laws on corporal punishments in the world
  Prohibited altogether
  Prohibited in schools
  Not prohibited in schools nor in a home, but prohibited in at least one setting
  Not prohibited at any setting
  Depends on state (USA)
School corporal punishment in the United States

Corporal punishment of minors in the United States

  Corporal punishment prohibited in public schools
  Corporal punishment not prohibited in public schools
Legality of corporal punishment of minors in Europe
  Corporal punishment banned altogether
  Corporal punishment banned in schools only
  Corporal punishment not prohibited in schools or in the home
[edit]
See also: Child corporal punishment laws

67 countries, most of them in Europe and Latin America, have prohibited any corporal punishment of children.

The earliest recorded attempt to prohibit corporal punishment of children by a state dates back to Poland in 1783.[39]: 31–2  However, its prohibition in all spheres of life – in homes, schools, the penal system and alternative care settings – occurred first in 1966 in Sweden. The 1979 Swedish Parental Code reads: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment."[39]: 32 

As of 2021, corporal punishment of children by parents (or other adults) is outlawed altogether in 63 nations (including the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo) and 3 constituent nations.[2]

Countries that have completely prohibited corporal punishment of children:[2]
Country Year
 Sweden 1979
 Finland 1983
 Norway 1987
 Austria 1989
 Cyprus 1994
 Denmark 1997
 Poland 1997
 Latvia 1998
 Germany 1998
 Croatia 1999
 Bulgaria 2000
 Israel 2000
 Turkmenistan 2002
 Iceland 2003
 Ukraine 2004
 Romania 2004
 Hungary 2005
 Greece 2006
 New Zealand 2007
 Netherlands 2007
 Portugal 2007
 Uruguay 2007
 Venezuela 2007
 Spain 2007
 Togo 2007
 Costa Rica 2008
 Moldova 2008
 Luxembourg 2008
 Liechtenstein 2008
 Tunisia 2010
 Kenya 2010
 Congo, Republic of 2010
 Albania 2010
 South Sudan 2011
 North Macedonia 2013
 Cabo Verde 2013
 Honduras 2013
 Malta 2014
 Brazil 2014
 Bolivia 2014
 Argentina 2014
 San Marino 2014
 Nicaragua 2014
 Estonia 2014
 Andorra 2014
 Benin 2015
 Ireland 2015
 Peru 2015
 Mongolia 2016
 Montenegro 2016
 Paraguay 2016
 Aruba 2016[40]
 Slovenia 2016
 Lithuania 2017
   Nepal 2018
 Kosovo 2019
 France 2019
 South Africa 2019
 Jersey 2019
 Georgia 2020
 Japan 2020
 Seychelles 2020
 Scotland 2020
 Guinea 2021
 Colombia 2021
 South Korea 2021
 Wales 2022
 Zambia 2022
 Cuba 2022
 Mauritius 2022
 Laos 2024[41]
 Tajikistan 2024[42]

For a more detailed overview of the global use and prohibition of the corporal punishment of children, see the following table.

Summary of the number of countries prohibiting corporal punishment of children[2]
Home Schools Penal system Alternative care settings
As sentence for crime As disciplinary measure
Prohibited 67 130 156 117 39
Not prohibited 131 68 41 77 159
Legality unknown – – 1 4 –

Corporal punishment in the home

[edit]
Main article: Corporal punishment in the home
An overview of the Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment Act 2020, which ends the physical punishment of children everywhere in Wales, including the home

Domestic corporal punishment (i.e. the punishment of children by their parents) is often referred to colloquially as "spanking", "smacking", or "slapping".

It has been outlawed in an increasing number of countries, starting with Sweden in 1979.[43][2] In some other countries, corporal punishment is legal, but restricted (e.g. blows to the head are outlawed, implements may not be used, only children within a certain age range may be spanked).

In all states of the United States and most African and Asian nations, corporal punishment by parents is legal. It is also legal to use certain implements (e.g. a belt or a paddle).

In Canada, spanking by parents or legal guardians (but nobody else) is legal, with certain restrictions: the child must be between the ages of 2–12, and no implement other than an open, bare hand may be used (belts, paddles, etc. are prohibited). It is also illegal to strike the head when disciplining a child.[44][45]

In the UK (except Scotland and Wales), spanking or smacking is legal, but it must not cause an injury amounting to actual bodily harm (any injury such as visible bruising, breaking of the whole skin, etc.). In addition, in Scotland, since October 2003, it has been illegal to use any implements or to strike the head when disciplining a child, and it is also prohibited to use corporal punishment towards children under the age of 3 years. In 2019, Scotland enacted a ban on corporal punishment, which went into effect in 2020. Wales also enacted a ban in 2020, which has gone into effect in 2022.[46]

In Pakistan, Section 89 of Pakistan Penal Code allows corporal punishment.[47]

In 2024, children's doctors urged ministers to ban smacking children in England and Northern Ireland as their report warned that children suffer physically and mentally after being hit in their home. However, the UK government stated there were no plans to change the law on smacking in England and said it would observe the impact of legal amendments in Scotland and Wales.[48]

Corporal punishment in schools

[edit]
Main article: School corporal punishment

Corporal punishment in schools has been outlawed in many countries. It often involves striking the student on the buttocks or the palm of the hand with an implement (e.g. a rattan cane or a spanking paddle).

In countries where corporal punishment is still allowed in schools, there may be restrictions; for example, school caning in Singapore and Malaysia is, in theory, permitted for boys only.

In India and many other countries, corporal punishment has technically been abolished by law. However, corporal punishment continues to be practised on boys and girls in many schools around the world. Cultural perceptions of corporal punishment have rarely been studied and researched. One study carried out discusses how corporal punishment is perceived among parents and students in India.[49]

Medical professionals have urged putting an end to the practice, noting the danger of injury to children's hands especially.[50]

Judicial or quasi-judicial punishment

[edit]
Main article: Judicial corporal punishment
  Countries with judicial corporal punishment
A member of the Taliban's religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on 26 August 2001

Around 33 countries in the world still retain judicial corporal punishment, including a number of former British territories such as Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore and Tanzania. In Singapore, for certain specified offences, males are routinely sentenced to caning in addition to a prison term. The Singaporean practice of caning became much discussed around the world in 1994 when American teenager Michael P. Fay received four strokes of the cane for vandalism. Judicial caning and whipping are also used in Aceh Province in Indonesia.[51]

A number of other countries with an Islamic legal system, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran, Brunei, Sudan, and some northern states in Nigeria, employ judicial whipping for a range of offences. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court ended the flogging punishment from its court system, and replaced it with jail time or fines.[52] As of 2009, some regions of Pakistan are experiencing a breakdown of law and government, leading to a reintroduction of corporal punishment by ad hoc Islamicist courts.[53] As well as corporal punishment, some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran use other kinds of physical penalties such as amputation or mutilation.[54][55][56] However, the term "corporal punishment" has since the 19th century usually meant caning, flagellation or bastinado rather than those other types of physical penalty.[57][58][59][60][61][62][63]

In some countries, foot whipping (bastinado) is still practised on prisoners.[64]

Effects

[edit]

According to a study headed by Harvard researchers, corporal punishment like spanking could affect the brain development of children. These effects are similar to the more severe form of violence.[65] Corporal punishment is associated with physical injury and abuse, it erodes parent-child relationships, reduces cognitive abilities and IQ scores, leads to mental health problems including depression and anxiety, and it increases adult aggression and anti-social behaviors.[66]

Rituals

[edit]

In parts of England, boys were once beaten under the old tradition of "Beating the Bounds" whereby a boy was paraded around the edge of a city or parish and spanked with a switch or cane to mark the boundary.[67] One famous "Beating the Bounds" took place around the boundary of St Giles and the area where Tottenham Court Road now stands in central London. The actual stone that marked the boundary is now underneath the Centre Point office tower.[68]

In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and some parts of Hungary, a tradition for health and fertility is carried out on Easter Monday. Boys and young men will spank or whip girls and young women on the bottom with braided willow branches. After the man sings the verse, the young woman turns around and the man takes a few whacks at her backside with the whip. [69][70]

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The Flagellation, by Piero della Francesca

Art

Film and TV

See: List of films and TV containing corporal punishment scenes.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ It has been debated among scholars as to whether what is encouraged in the book of Proverbs is the corporal punishment of a "child" or a "young man". The word translated "child" in most cases in the Bible refers to a young man rather than a child.[9]
  1. ^ "Corporal punishment". Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e "States which have prohibited all corporal punishment". www.endcorporalpunishment.org. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children. 29 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Progress". Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. 2021.
  4. ^ Diamond, Jared (2013). The World Until Yesterday. Viking. Ch. 5. ISBN 978-1-101-60600-1.
  5. ^ Gray, Peter (2009). "Play as a Foundation for Hunter-Gatherer Social Existence". American Journal of Play. 1 (4): 476–522. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  6. ^ Wilson (1971), 2.1.
  7. ^ Rich, John M. (December 1989). "The Use of Corporal Punishment". The Clearing House, Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 149–152.
  8. ^ Wilson, Robert M. (1971). A Study of Attitudes Towards Corporal Punishment as an Educational Procedure From the Earliest Times to the Present (Thesis). University of Victoria. 2.3. OCLC 15767752.
  9. ^ Leeb, Carolyn (2000). Away from the Father's House. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 1-84127-105-5.
  10. ^ Wilson (1971), 2.3.
  11. ^ Wilson (1971), 2.3–2.6.
  12. ^ Deuteronomy 25:1-3
  13. ^ a b c Wilson (1971), 2.5.
  14. ^ Plutarch, Moralia. The Education of Children, Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press, 1927.
  15. ^ Wicksteed, Joseph H. The Challenge of Childhood: An Essay on Nature and Education, Chapman & Hall, London, 1936, pp. 34–35. OCLC 3085780
  16. ^ Ascham, Roger. The scholemaster, John Daye, London, 1571, p. 1. Republished by Constable, London, 1927. OCLC 10463182
  17. ^ Newell, Peter (ed.). A Last Resort? Corporal Punishment in Schools, Penguin, London, 1972, p. 9 ISBN 0140806989
  18. ^ Barretts, C.R.B. The History of The 7th Queen's Own Hussars Vol. II Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ^ Middleton, Jacob (2005). "Thomas Hopley and mid-Victorian attitudes to corporal punishment". History of Education.
  20. ^ a b Middleton, Jacob (November 2012). "Spare the Rod". History Today (London).
  21. ^ Calvert, R. "Criminal and civil liability in husband-wife assaults", in Violence in the family (Suzanne K. Steinmetz and Murray A. Straus, eds.), Harper & Row, New York, 1974. ISBN 0-396-06864-2
  22. ^ R. v Jackson Archived 7 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, [1891] 1 QB 671, abstracted at LawTeacher.net.
  23. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Corporal Punishment" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–190.
  24. ^ Criminal Justice Act, 1948 zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58., pp. 54–55.
  25. ^ This applies to the 47 members of the Council of Europe, an entirely separate body from the European Union, which has only 28 member states.
  26. ^ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (2012). Retrieved 1 May 2012. "Key Judgements." The ruling concerned the Isle of Man, a UK Crown Dependency.
  27. ^ UN (2012) "4 . International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Archived 1 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine," United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  28. ^ UN Human Rights Committee (1992) "General Comment No. 20". HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4.: p. 108
  29. ^ UN (2012) "9 . Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Archived 8 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  30. ^ UN (1996) General Assembly Official Records, Fiftieth Session, A/50/44, 1995: par. 177, and A/51/44, 1996: par. 65(i).
  31. ^ UN (2012). 3. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Archived 17 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  32. ^ UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999) "General Comment on 'The Right to Education'," HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4: 73.
  33. ^ European Committee of Social Rights 2001. "Conclusions XV – 2," Vol. 1.
  34. ^ UN (2012). 11. Convention on the Rights of the Child Archived 11 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  35. ^ UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) "General Comment No. 8:" par. 3. However, Article 19 of the Convention makes no reference to corporal punishment, and the Committee's interpretation on this point has been explicitly rejected by several States Party to the Convention, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
  36. ^ UN OHCHR (2012). Committee on the Rights of the Child. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  37. ^ UN (2006) "Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General". United Nations, A/61/299. See further: UN (2012e). Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children Archived 8 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  38. ^ UN (2007) United Nations General Assembly, A/RES/62/141. The United States was the only country to vote against. There were no abstentions.
  39. ^ a b Abolishing corporal punishment of children: questions and answers (PDF). Strasbourg: Council of Europe. 2007. ISBN 978-9-287-16310-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2014.
  40. ^ "Aruba has prohibited all corporal punishment of children - Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children". Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  41. ^ "Lao PDR on Historic Ban of Corporal Punishment" (Press release). Unicef. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  42. ^ "Tajikistan prohibits all corporal punishment of children". End Corporal Punishment. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  43. ^ Durrant, Joan E. (1996). "The Swedish Ban on Corporal Punishment: Its History and Effects". In Frehsee, Detlev; et al. (eds.). Family Violence Against Children: A Challenge for Society. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 19–25. ISBN 3-11-014996-6.
  44. ^ "To spank or not to spank?". CBC News. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  45. ^ Barnett, Laura. "The "Spanking" Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  46. ^ "Wales introduces ban on smacking and slapping children". The Guardian. London. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  47. ^ Wajeeh, Ul Hassan. "Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860)". Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  48. ^ Roxby, Philippa (16 April 2024). "Protect children from smacking in England and Northern Ireland, say doctors". BBC News. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  49. ^ Ghosh, Arijit; Pasupathi, Madhumathi (18 August 2016). "Perceptions of Students and Parents on the Use of Corporal Punishment at Schools in India" (PDF). Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities. 8 (3): 269–280. doi:10.21659/rupkatha.v8n3.28.
  50. ^ "Corporal Punishment to Children's Hands", A Statement by Medical Authorities as to the Risks, January 2002.
  51. ^ McKirdy, Euan (14 July 2018). "Gay men, adulterers publicly flogged in Aceh, Indonesia". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  52. ^ "Saudi Arabia to end flogging as form of punishment - document". Reuters. 24 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  53. ^ Walsh, Declan. "Video of girl's flogging as Taliban hand out justice", The Guardian, London, 2 April 2009.
  54. ^ Campaign against the Arms Trade, Evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, London, January 2005.
  55. ^ "Lashing Justice", Editorial, The New York Times, 3 December 2007.
  56. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Court Orders Eye to Be Gouged Out", Human Rights Watch, 8 December 2005.
  57. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1989, "corporal punishment: punishment inflicted on the body; originally including death, mutilation, branding, bodily confinement, irons, the pillory, etc. (as opposed to a fine or punishment in estate or rank). In 19th c. usually confined to flogging or similar infliction of bodily pain."
  58. ^ "Physical punishment such as caning or flogging" – Concise Oxford Dictionary.
  59. ^ "... inflicted on the body, esp. by beating." – Oxford American Dictionary of Current English.
  60. ^ "mostly a euphemism for the enforcement of discipline by applying canes, whips or birches to the buttocks." – Charles Arnold-Baker, The Companion to British History, Routledge, 2001.
  61. ^ "Physical punishment such as beating or caning" – Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.
  62. ^ "Punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating." – Collins English Dictionary.
  63. ^ "the striking of somebody's body as punishment" – Encarta World English Dictionary, MSN. Archived 31 October 2009.
  64. ^ "Confirming Torture: The Use of Imaging in Victims of Falanga". Forensic Magazine. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  65. ^ "Spanking children may impair their brain development". 12 April 2021.
  66. ^ Gershoff, E. T. (25 August 2021). "More Harm Than Good: A Summary Of Scientific Research On The Intended And Unintended Effects Of Corporal Punishment On Children - PMC". Law and Contemporary Problems. 73 (2): 31–56. PMC 8386132. PMID 34446972.
  67. ^ "Mayor may axe child spanking rite", BBC News Online, 21 September 2004.
  68. ^ Ackroyd, Peter. London: The Biography, Chatto & Windus, London, 2000. ISBN 1-85619-716-6
  69. ^ babastudio. "Whipping away infertility at Easter". Bohemian Magic. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  70. ^ Prucha, Emily (31 March 2012). "What's Easter without a Whipping?". InCultureParent. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  71. ^ [1]| Reynolda House Museum of American Art

Further reading

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  • Barathan, Gopal; The Caning of Michael Fay, (1995). A contemporary account of an American teenager ( Michael P. Fay ) caned for vandalism in Singapore.
  • Gates, Jay Paul and Marafioti, Nicole; (eds.), Capital and Corporal Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England, (2014). Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
  • Moskos, Peter; In Defence of Flogging, (2011). An argument that flogging might be better than jail time.
  • Scott, George; A History of Corporal Punishment, (1996).
[edit]
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