Charities and the Children’s Commissioner for England are calling for smacking to be criminalised in England following the move in Scotland to ban the form of discipline.
Last week, Scotland became the first country in the UK to approve new legislation which will mean parents face criminal charges if they are found guilty of smacking their children.
Scotland joins 57 other countries across the world where physical punishment of children is illegal, including Ireland, which banned smacking in 2015. Wales is due to follow in Scotland’s footsteps.
In England and Northern Ireland, where parents are allowed to use ‘reasonable chastisement’, there are no plans to criminalise smacking.
The NSPCC, the Children’s Commissioner for England and the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children say it is now time the rest of the UK follows suit.
NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said, ‘We have long campaigned for this decision, which brings Scotland into line with dozens of other countries around the world.
‘Yet this momentous vote creates a disparity in child protection across the UK. We now urge the governments of the other nations to do the fair and sensible thing and bring about the same changes for children living elsewhere in the UK.’
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children said, ‘The [UN Convention on the Rights of the Child] is turning 30 next month – it is now past time for the whole of the UK and the rest of the world to fulfil their obligations and protect children from all forms of violence.’
The Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield added, ‘The current legislation in England is outdated. The Government should make time to update the law, so it reflects what most parents believe – that hitting children is wrong and there are better and more effective ways of disciplining children and encouraging positive behaviour.’
Be Reasonable Scotland, which spearheaded a campaign in defence of the existing law and has spoken of its disappointment that MSPs backed the ‘reckless’ law change, said, ‘The existing law protects children. It outlaws violence and abuse. The reasonable chastisement defence simply allows parents to use an occasional tap on the hand or smack on the bottom.
‘If it is removed then, by definition, reasonable behaviour will be criminalised. Parents will be at risk of police investigation, prosecution, conviction – for giving their toddler a mild smack.’
