Map of domestic corporal punishment abolition

Campaigns against corporal punishment aim to reduce or eliminate

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 Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

of minors by instigating legal and cultural changes in the areas where such punishments are practiced. Such campaigns date mostly from the late 20th century, although occasional voices in opposition to corporal punishment existed from ancient times through to the

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

era. The

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The committee also monitors the convention's three optional protoco ...

defines "corporal punishment" as:

any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting ("smacking", "slapping", "spanking") children, with the hand or with an implement – whip, stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, etc. 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.

History

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, both writing in the 1st century A.D., expressed the opinion that corporal punishment was demeaning to those who were not slaves, meaning the children of the freeborn. In contrast, according to the classicist Otto Kiefer,

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People, fictional characters and language * Seneca (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname : :* Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. AD 39), a Roman rhetorician, writer and father ...

remarked to his friend

Lucilius The gens Lucilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The most famous member of this gens was the poet Gaius Lucilius, who flourished during the latter part of the second century BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vo ...

, "Fear and love cannot live together. You seem to me to do right in refusing to be feared by your slaves and chastising them with words alone. Blows are used to correct brute beasts". However, according to Robert McCole Wilson, "it is only in the last two hundred years that there has been a growing body of opinion" opposed to corporal punishment.

Australia

Jordan Riak began working against corporal punishment when he was residing with his children in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. Corporal punishment was eventually banned in the public schools of all Australian states, and the private schools of all states except

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

United Kingdom

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, one of the earliest organised campaigns was that of the

Humanitarian League The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 1891 ...

, with its regular magazine ''The Humanitarian'', which campaigned for several years for the abolition of the chastisement of young seamen in the Royal Navy, a goal partially achieved in 1906 when naval

birching Birching is a form of corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically used to strike the recipient's bare buttocks, although occasionally the back and/or shoulders. Implement A birch rod (often shortened to "birch") is a bundle of leafless t ...

was abandoned as a summary punishment. However, it did not manage to get the Navy to abolish

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or han ...

as a punishment, which continued at Naval training establishments until 1967. The

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921 ...

campaigned in the 1930s for, among many other things, the abolition of

judicial corporal punishment Judicial corporal punishment is the infliction of corporal punishment as a result of a sentence imposed on an offender by a Court, court of law, including Flagellation, flagellation (also called flogging or whipping), forced Amputation, amputat ...

cat-o'-nine-tails The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip or Flail (weapon), flail. It originated as an implement for physical punishment, particularly in the Royal Navy and British Army, and as a Judicial corporal pun ...

. This was eventually achieved in the U.K. in 1948. The Society of Teachers Opposed to Physical Punishment (STOPP) was set up in the U.K. in 1968 to campaign for the abolition of corporal punishment in UK schools. STOPP was a very small pressure group that lobbied government, local authorities and other official institutions. It also investigated individual cases of corporal punishment and aided families wishing to pursue their cases through the UK and European courts. The UK Parliament abolished corporal punishment in state schools in 1986. STOPP then wound itself up and ceased to exist, though some of the same individuals went on to form EPOCH (End Physical punishment Of Children) to campaign to outlaw spanking, and spanking in the domestic setting. A campaign by the name of Children Are Unbeatable! involves more than 350 separate groups, including the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a global charity headquartered in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. It was founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each ye ...

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Action for Children Action for Children (formerly National Children's Home) is a United Kingdom, UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children and young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 4 ...

(formerly NCH), and the

National Children's Bureau The National Children’s Bureau works collaboratively across the issues affecting children to influence policy and get services working together to deliver a better childhood. Established in 1963, they have been at the forefront of campaigning fo ...

Canada

In ''CFCYL v. Canada'', the Supreme Court of Canada upheld section 43 of the Criminal Code, which allows for a

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

of reasonable use of force by way of correction towards children.

United States

An early U.S. activist against corporal punishment was

Horace Mann Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig Party (United States), Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education, he is thus also known as ''The Father of A ...

, who in the 19th century unsuccessfully opposed its use in schools. Several organizations have been formed in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to advocate abolishing corporal punishment in homes and/or schools, including: * Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE), based in California * The Center for Effective Discipline, now part of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) of Winona (MN) State University * The U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children * People Opposed to Paddling Students (POPS), based in Texas * Floridians Against Corporal Punishment in Public School, based in Florida * The Alliance Against Corporal Punishment * The

National Youth Rights Association The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) is an American youth-led Civil and political rights organization promoting youth rights, with approximately 10,000 members. NYRA promotes the lessening or removing of various legal restrictions that a ...

* We the Children Foundation Individuals who have directly advocated against corporal punishment include, but are not limited to: *

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1 ...

(1951-2022), Actress - has stated her opposition to corporal punishment on numerous occasions, most notably on the

Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

* Nadine Block, wrote the bill which banned corporal punishment from public schools in Ohio in 2009 * Blythe and David Daniel, Professors - advocate and teach children's rights and work for laws against corporal punishment * Blake Hutchison (born 1980), writer of ''Nobody's Property'', independent filmmaker and videographer from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

who has made several often-controversial children's rights and anti-spanking videos on his YouTube channel. including one titled "Children's Rights Pyrotechnic Practice" where he sets fire to a copy of Michael and Debi Pearl's highly controversial book ''To Train Up A Child'' (a book which he says is a "training" book to

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

kids). *

, campaigned to ban corporal punishment from schools during the 19th century * Dr. Phil McGraw (born 1950), Television Show Host has had episodes on his show dedicated to showing the harm and/or ineffectiveness of corporal punishment. *

Marcus Lawrence Ward Marcus Lawrence Ward (November 9, 1812 – April 25, 1884) was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 21st governor of New Jersey from 1866 to 1869 and represented Essex County for one term from 1873 to 1875. Early life Mar ...

(1812–1884), governor of New Jersey from 1866 to 1869, who signed into law the public and private school corporal punishment ban during his time in office, which is still in effect today. * Jordan Riak (1935–2016), drafted the bill which banned corporal punishment from public schools in California in the 1980s * Daniel Vander Ley (born 1982), using the BeatYourChildren.com campaign and the "Fundamentalism - America's Premier Child Abuse Brand" campaign, Vander Ley communicates directly with governments around the world offering their constituents research about the negative effects of corporal punishment and religious extremism.

Worldwide

An organisation called "Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment Of Children" was formed in 2001 to campaign for the worldwide prohibition by law of all corporal punishment of children, in homes, schools, penal institutions, and other settings. It seeks to monitor the legal situation in every country of the world. The Global Initiative has received endorsement from

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

, and the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children. In 2008, the UN Study on Violence against Children set a target date of 2009 for universal prohibition, including in the home, an aim described by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' the same year as "wildly unrealistic". The Society for Prevention of Injuries & Corporal Punishment

PIC PIC or pic may refer to: Places * Penbay International Circuit, or PIC, a motor track circuit in Pingtung County, Taiwan * Pic River, in Ontario, Canada * Picayune (Amtrak station) (Amtrak station code PIC), Mississippi, United States * Pic, a ...

is an Indian organization advocating measures to stop corporal punishment in schools by making teachers and students aware of its dangers. In Austria, the White Hand Campaign for a worldwide legal ban on child corporal punishment tries to raise awareness for the topic in the German-speaking countries.

History

Australia

United Kingdom

Canada

United States

Worldwide

See also

References

Further reading