In England, a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ exists which means children are not fully protected from physical assault - the NSPCC want the legal loophole abolished.
In more than 60 other countries around the world, including Scotland and Wales, physical punishment against children is illegal.
The charity’s call comes as it releases new figures showing the number of calls to its helping surrounding concerns around children experiencing physical punishment tripled in the last year.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the helpline answered 1,451 contacts across the UK that mentioned physical punishment against children. It says that 45 per cent of these calls were serious enough to require a referral to social services or the police.
Over half of the contacts were from people who were concerned about a parent’s behaviour towards their child. One in 10 were from children themselves. There were also contacts from professionals who work with children directly.
One adult who called the NSPCC helpline said, ‘I just left after visiting my friend and their three-year-old boy. Their son was messing around a bit and when he wouldn’t stop the dad pulled him over his knee and smacked him twice.
‘I must have looked shocked because his dad said it’s ok because he never leaves bruises, but the little one was crying and hid for the rest of the visit. It didn’t feel ok.’
The charity speculates that the increase could be because of more public awareness, increased capacity of its helpline service and people not understanding what is ‘acceptable’ when it comes to punishing a child.
The NSPCC wants the new government to follow Scotland and Wales and end the use of physical punishment in England.
Physical punishment is defined by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as any punishment in which physical force is used, with the intention of causing some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.
