EPOCH New Zealand

Kenya’s new Constitution prohibits all corporal punishment

Kenya's new Constitution, adopted in August 2010, protects every person from corporal punishment, making Kenya the second African state this year to legally protect children from all corporal punishment in all settings, including the home.

Article 29 of the Constitution states that every person “has the right to freedom ad security of the person, which includes the right not to be ... (c) subjected to any form of violence from either public or private sources; (d) subjected to torture in any manner, whether physical or psychological; (e) subjected to corporal punishment; or (f) treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner”. Article 20(1) states: “The Bill of Rights applies to all law and binds all State organs and all persons.” And article 53 confirms that every child has the right “to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, and hazardous or exploitative labour”.

The effect of the prohibition in the new Constitution is immediate: article 2(4) renders void any law, including customary law, that is inconsistent with the Constitution. There are various provisions in Kenyan law which justify or authorise corporal punishment, in conflict with the new Constitution. These will need to be reviewed and amended, including repeal of “the right of any parent or other person having the lawful control or charge of a child to administer reasonable punishment on him” from article 127 of the Children Act 2001 and of the authorisation of corporal punishment in schools in article 11 of the Education (School Discipline) Regulations.

Kenya is the 29^th state worldwide to prohibit all corporal punishment of children, following closely the achievement of prohibition in Tunisia and Poland.

For further information, visit www.endcorporalpunishment.org

Two more states prohibit all corporal punishment of children

Tunisia and Poland have recently achieved law reform and now prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings.

In July 2010, Tunisia became the first African state to prohibit all corporal punishment of children. Law No. 2010-40 of 26 July 2010, amends article 319 of the Penal Code to remove the clause which provided a legal defence for the use of corporal punishment in childrearing. Prior to the reform, article 319 of the Penal Code punished assault and violence which did not lead to serious or lasting consequences for the victim, but stated that "correction of a child by persons in authority over him is not punishable".The new law explicitly repeals this clause, making it a criminal offence to assault a child even lightly.

On 1 August 2010, a new law came into force in Poland prohibiting all corporal punishment in childrearing. Article 2 of the Law of 6 May 2010 “On the Prevention of Family Violence” amends the Family Code (1964) by inserting a new article 96 which prohibits all corporal punishment in childrearing: "Persons exercising parental care, care or alternative care over a minor are forbidden to use corporal punishment, inflict psychological suffering and use any other forms of child humiliation".

For more information visit www.endcorporalpunishment.org

Physical punishment still legal in schools in many states in the USA

A short news item from Texas makes interesting viewing in New Zealand where it has been illegal to hit children in schools for 20 years. In the interview, a child advocate argues against the use of physical punishment as colleagues seek to make physical punishment of children illegal in schools in Texas.

The advocate argues that hitting children teaches them to hit, is ineffective as a method of teaching children to behave well and is a cruel and degrading form of punishment. Although use of physical punishment of children is now illegal in 30 states in the USA, it is still legal in homes in all states.

The most chilling aspect of this video is the nature of the instrument used to punish children in schools. It is illustrated in the video. The paddle, as it is called, looks like a cricket bat and is said to cause injuries to the recipients of a “paddling”. The underpinning belief that violence is effective in socializing children appears to reflect a legitimization of violence, a lack of understanding of child development and perhaps a belief that children are innately bad and that painful punishment is going to rid the child of his or her evil ways. There is no guidance or positive role modeling at all in this approach to discipline.