HONDURAS is now the 34th nation to ban spanking in the home. http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/news/honduras-prohibits.html
That comes as a surprise to many Americans! Most folks don't like the idea of a ban, even if they think spanking is wrong. The worry is that we might criminalize parents - which would be the exact opposite of what we are trying to do - SUPPORT PARENTS! If that were the case, then why have the most child-friendly countries including most of Europe (sanz the two colonial powers England and France) have successfully banned spanking to reduce violence against children?
What can other nations teach us about protecting our children and wiring the brains of our children for peace?
We filmed Peter Newell, Coordinator of the Global Initiative to End Corporal Punishment and asked him about the purpose of law reform.
The Child's Rights International Network presents Peter Newell
Here is an elegant and compelling human rights argument condemning corporal punishment of children by the esteemed Peter Newell, Director, Global Initiative to End Corporal Punishment of Children. Presented To United Nations Human Rights Council, March 6, 2013. He criticizes the attempt to eliminate the practice of spanking children by researching its health and neurological risks, emphasizing that this undermines the obvious human right that children have to be free from violence.
Corporal punishment is the commonest form of violence which children suffer,
in all regions. And there are many perspectives from which to condemn it. The
imperative for prohibiting and eliminating it is children’s equal human right to
full respect for their dignity and physical integrity and to equal protection under
the law.Sometimes it seems that dwelling on other perspectives, other arguments, can
actually undermine acceptance of the immediate human rights imperative for
action. We don’t look for proof that domestic violence against women damages
their physical or mental health in order to justify prohibiting it and ending
impunity. It would be insulting to women to do so, and it is equally insulting to
children to suggest we have to prove harm in order to justify extending to them
the legal protection that we as adults take for granted from being deliberately
assaulted.
What is the Purpose of Law Reform?
Peter Newell makes a compelling argument that the basic right of the individual to be protected by law from all acts of physical harm should naturally extend to children.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/tjiBj7a3m6I]
Should We Ban Spanking in the US?
Researchers, child psychologists, representatives from Sweden and New Zealand, and child activists in the US talk about the purpose of banning spanking in the home.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/8lIzgr8ft64]
[youtube=http://youtu.be/H5VzcYFVHzo]
[youtube=http://youtu.be/NbOvHfMk4Kc]
Interviewees
Dr. John Allan, PhD, Child Developmental Psychologist: Dr. Allan is Professor Emeritus of Counseling Psychology at the University of British Columbia and the author of numerous articles and books on play therapy and school counseling, some of which are translated into Japanese, Russian, Italian and Arabic. Dr. Allan has more than 45 years clinical experience working with both “typical” children in classrooms and those physically and sexually abused, emotionally neglected and terminally ill.
Nadine Block - Nadine has worked as a teacher, school psychologist and consultant to mental health organizations. She founded the Center for Effective Discipline in l987 and served as its executive director until 2010. The organization is dedicated to ending corporal punishment of children through education and legal reform. http://www.nadineblock.com/
Murray Straus, PhD - Dr. Straus is the leading researcher on the effects of Corporal Punishment. He is Professor of Sociology and founder and Co-Director of the Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire (since 1968). Previously taught at the Univ of Minnesota, Cornell, Wisconsin, Washington State, U of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Visiting Professor: U. of Kentucky, U. Bombay (India), U. of York (England), Columbia Univ, U. of Leuven Belgium http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/
Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD - Dr. Gershoff is Professor of Human Develoment and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Gershoff is a developmental psychologist who studies how parenting generally and discipline in particular affect children’s development. She is interested in how parenting affects children differently within contexts of poverty and low income, neighborhoods, schools, and culture. She is also interested in associations between children’s exposures to various forms of violence (from parents, communities, and terrorism) and their mental health and risk behaviors. http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/prc/directory/faculty/ethomp
Mali Nilson - SWEDEN Ms. Nilsson is a Senior Advisor with Save the Children, Sweden. She has worked extensively in the international efforts to stop violent forms of discipline and to promote positive discipline.
Johny O'Donnell - NEW ZEALAND Johny is the Founder of SAVE.org. In March 2009 he and two friends embarked on a journey that created the nationwide movement- Students Against Violence Everywhere. A youth led anti-violence movement that aims to raise awareness of violence by spreading positive change in our schools, homes and communities. To find out more about SAVE visit www.savemovement.org
Peter Newell - Peter is an advocate for children’s rights in the UK and internationally. He is the Coordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (www.endcorporalpunishment.org). He was a member of Professor Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro’s Editorial Board for the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children and co-chairs the international NGO Advisory Council for follow-up to the UNSG’s Study. Peter has worked frequently as a consultant for UNICEF, in particular advising on general measures for implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and on establishment of independent human rights institutions for children. He is also Adviser to the European Network of Ombudspeople for Children. www.endcorporalpunishment.org/
What Are the Outcomes in Sweden since the Ban in 1979?
Research on SWEDEN'S Ban of Spanking Since 1979
What are the outcomes from the ban on spanking in Sweden over thirty years later? Read the longitudinal study by Sweden's Ministry of Health & Social Affairs.
Comments (0)