Major conference held in Europe

27 June 2014

On 3rd and 4th June 2014, the Swedish Government hosted a high-level conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 35th anniversary of Sweden’s pioneering ban on all corporal punishment of children. The explicit purpose was to place the issue of a legal ban on all corporal punishment on the international political agenda and to encourage states to work together to accelerate reform. 

The Global Initiative prepared a special report for the conference, Childhood free from corporal punishment changing law and practice.

The report contains facts and figures on reform in all regions and is a celebration of progress to date as well as a call to action for all states to complete the process of law reform. It includes a new checklist of actions that can be taken by states collaboratively to work towards universal prohibition of violent punishment of children.

A section entitled Violent punishment of children: effects and associations summarises evidence of the relationship between corporal punishment and other forms of violence and damaging outcomes for children.  A section on The Impact of Prohibition presents research from some countries that have achieved full reform. There is strong evidence of changes in attitudes and practice following law reform.