Consultation on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill
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Tystiolaeth i’r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar gyfer craffu Cyfnod 1 Bil Plant (Diddymu Amddiffyniad Cosb Resymol) (Cymru) |
Evidence submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee for Stage 1 scrutiny of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill |
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CADRP-294 |
CADRP-294 |
About you
Organisation: UNICEF UK
— Yes
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
UNICEF believes and works with partners to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence. Corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment are forms of violence and States must take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to eliminate them. The dignity of each and every individual, including a child, is the fundamental guiding principle of international human rights law.
Before the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, upheld “everyone’s” right to respect for his/her human dignity and physical integrity and to equal protection under the law. In asserting States’ obligation to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment and all other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child notes that the Convention on the Rights of the Child builds on this foundation.
The preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. The preamble to the Convention also recalls that, in the Universal Declaration, the United Nations “has proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance”.
Article 37 of the Convention requires States to ensure that “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. This is complemented and extended by article 19, which requires States to “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, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child”. There is no ambiguity: “all forms of physical or mental violence” does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
Absolutely.
Moreover, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that eliminating violent and humiliating punishment of children, through law reform and other necessary measures, is an immediate and unqualified obligation of States parties.
In its examination of States parties’ reports the Committee has noted with great concern the widespread legality and persisting social approval of corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading punishment of children. Since it began examining States parties’ reports the Committee has recommended prohibition of all corporal punishment, in the family and other settings, to more than 130 States in all continents.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has repeatedly called on all governments in the UK, including in Wales, to ban corporal punishment (“smacking”) in all settings.
It is important to stress here that the Bill enjoys support by Welsh children themselves. In March and April 2018, UNICEF UK asked young people in schools across Wales what they thought about this subject.
Over 1000 young people learnt about how the law is changing in other countries and took part in classroom debates to help them decide what they thought about a change in the law in Wales.
Some of the points young people made can be summarised as:
• children are usually weaker than adults and should be protected from harm
• smacking was not an effective way of teaching children, and other forms of punishment are better
• hitting children could cause other problems, like making them afraid or encouraging children to be violent to others
• the law is not fair because it protects adults but not children.
1,157 young people voted on whether the law should change or stay the same: 566 Primary School students and 593 Secondary School students. In both cases the majority voted for the proposed change to the law be made (72% and 56% respectively).
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
A comprehensive and adequately financed legislation is essential, but it is not enough to eradicate all forms of violence against children. Social and behavioural changes in families and communities, as well as the implementation of multi-sectoral and intercultural policies, with a gender perspective and a human rights approach, are fundamental to promote a positive upbringing and to guarantee each boy and each girl a life free of violence.
Prevention is crucial and can be achieved through awareness-raising, sensitization and child rights training.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
The Bill has only one substantive article, i.e. removing the reasonable punishment defence.
It is thus important to follow up the future Act with a clear national policy statement on violence against children within the family, to be used as an advocacy tool and disseminated throughout the country.
Such an approach should include the following:
(a) Public information campaigns should be launched to raise awareness and sensitize the public about the severity of human rights violations and the harm to children in this domain, and to address cultural acceptance of violence against children, promoting instead the unacceptability of all forms of violence against children;
(b) Children and parents should be meaningfully involved in all aspects of the design and implementation of awareness-raising campaigns, including through peer education efforts;
(c) The media should be encouraged to play an active role in educating the public and raising awareness.
(d) Appropriate information on protection of children from violence is disseminated, through all appropriate channels and involving grass-roots groups, to all relevant professional bodies and groups, children, parents, and the general public.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
As mentioned above, during our public consultation with children in Wales, there was a significant number of children, especially in secondary schools, who were not in favour of the legislative initiative. Their main argument can be summarised as:
“If the Police got involved and parents were charged with a crime, this would be worse for the young person than the smack.”
The aim of the Bill is to eliminate the use and tolerance of the physical punishment of children and that should be achieved not by criminalisation of parents but changing their attitude towards managing their children’s behaviour.
UNICEF UK believes that the Bill should be used to immediately start promoting a more positive approach to acknowledging children as bearers of human rights and to raising awareness about and bringing about change in cultural attitudes towards protecting children from violence and the availability of more constructive and effective methods of discipline.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
n/a
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
UNICEF UK is encouraged that Wales is taking appropriate legislative and other measures to assert children’s right to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity and to equal protection under the law. According to our data, more than 60 States had prohibited corporal punishment in all settings. We congratulate the National Assembly for Wales for leading the way in the UK.