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Why Ulster should say no to smacking

By Colin Reid, policy advisor with the NSPCC Northern Ireland Not long ago, who would have thought that we would all wear seatbelts when driving, probably wouldn't smoke and if driving, certainly wouldn't drink. These are some of the ways the Government has led public opinion and produced changes in society that we all accept as perfectly sensible and necessary.

Not long ago, who would have thought that we would all wear seatbelts when driving, probably wouldn't smoke and if driving, certainly wouldn't drink. These are some of the ways the Government has led public opinion and produced changes in society that we all accept as perfectly sensible and necessary.

As the Northern Ireland Assembly embarks on a consultation on the smacking of children we will be faced with a similar debate about state intervention, rights and freedoms, and the need ultimately for children to be afforded the same protection under the law as adults. The background to the consultation on smacking lies in the European Court decision in the UK case brought by an 11-year-old against his stepfather who had hit him with a cane. The police brought a prosecution in the domestic courts for assault, which was unsuccessful when the defendant used the defence of 'reasonable chastisement'. When the boy took a case under the European Convention to the European Court, the issue of reasonable chastisement was found to be very unclear, hence the direction to the UK Government to clarify the law.

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