Nursery World - Smacking ban may be lifted

Child safety campaigners across the UK have condemned moves in Scotland to reject plans to ban the smacking of toddlers. The Scottish Parliament's Justice 2 Committee published a report last Friday that rejected a ban on the physical punishment of children under the age of three, as set out in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. The report said that while the committee strongly supported any measures to reduce harm or abuse of children and welcomed the general trend in society towards less physical punishment of children, it 'was not immediately convinced that change in the law is needed to achieve these ends or that these specific changes would be workable.'

The Scottish Parliament's Justice 2 Committee published a report last Friday that rejected a ban on the physical punishment of children under the age of three, as set out in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. The report said that while the committee strongly supported any measures to reduce harm or abuse of children and welcomed the general trend in society towards less physical punishment of children, it 'was not immediately convinced that change in the law is needed to achieve these ends or that these specific changes would be workable.'

The report added, 'We do not wish to see an increase in the prosecution of parents for moderate physical punishment and we do not accept that it is realistic to remove an available defence to the charge of assault while at the same time reassuring Parliament that the number of prosecutions will not increase as a result.'

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