The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children aims to end legalized violence against children through universal prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its General Comment No. 8 (2006), defines corporal or physical punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light”.
According to the Committee, this mostly involves hitting (“smacking”, “slapping”, “spanking”) children with the hand or with an implement (a whip, stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, or similar) but it can also involve, for example, kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears, forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions, burning, scalding or forced ingestion (for example, washing children’s mouths out with soap or forcing them to swallow hot spices). Non-physical forms of punishment that are cruel and degrading and thus incompatible with the Convention include, for example, punishment which belittles, humiliates, denigrates, scapegoats, threatens, scares or ridicules the child.
In the view of the Committee, corporal punishment is invariably degrading.
Prohibiting corporal punishment is about ensuring children are equally protected under the law on assault – whoever the perpetrator and whether or not the assault is inflicted as “discipline” or punishment.
As the smallest and most vulnerable members of society, children deserve more, not less, protection from assault. The primary purpose of legal prohibition is educative – providing a clear statement that any level or form of corporal punishment is no longer acceptable – rather than punitive.
We work as a catalyst promoting progress towards ending all corporal punishment through a range of activities, including:
- Building relationships with governments to provide technical assistance and to empower them to take responsibility for prohibition and elimination.
- Acting as an up to date and comprehensive ‘source’ on the prohibition of corporal punishment and research on its prevalence, effects and elimination.
- Supporting national campaigns and partners with accurate information and assistance, including briefing and reviewing the work of human rights treaty monitoring bodies and the Universal Periodic Review.