Why corporal punishment doesn’t work

Over many years, Sweden had campaigns about the negative impact of physical and emotional punishment on children.

Over many years, Sweden had campaigns about the negative impact of physical and emotional punishment on children.

Published Aug 16, 2013

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Durban - Results of the 2012 National School Violence Study released recently ranked KwaZulu-Natal as the province with the highest rate of corporal punishment in schools.

Caning, slapping, punching and other means of physical abuse increased from 48.7 percent in 2008 to an astounding 73.7 percent last year, according to the study.

The SA Human Rights Commission issued a statement suggesting that reported cases often went beyond the definition of corporal punishment, with some children left severely humiliated, grievously injured, disabled or even dead as a result of injuries.

While the study has received widespread attention, little consideration has been paid to what may lie at the core of this perpetuated violence in schools.

One commentator suggested that teachers who administered corporal punishment did so with the belief that the children in their care came from homes in which physical discipline was acceptable anyway.

The premise on both ends is often the same – that a sense of morality is gained from punishment.

However, Childline KZN’s Linda Naidoo, who is on the front line of issues involving children, says in today’s violent and stressed society, corporal punishment can have more severe outcomes and effects than it had in the past.

“South Africa is a country with high rates of violence, and addressing it needs to begin at home,” she says.

“The act of corporal punishment itself may be different for different parents – parents vary in how frequently they use it, how forcefully they administer it, how emotionally aroused they are when they do it, and whether they combine it with other techniques.

“But corporal punishment on its own does not teach children right from wrong, although it makes children afraid to disobey their parents. It has taught them no skills to resolve or change a behaviour that they may present with, but it encourages aggression and violence as acceptable responses to conflicts and problems.”

Naidoo says she has found that many cases of child abuse begin with spanking.

“Spanking has an addiction-like effect: the more one spanks, the more one feels a need to spank, possibly escalating until the situation is out of control.

“To maintain the initial effect of spanking, one has to increase the intensity with which it is delivered, which can quickly escalate into abuse, so the initial slap becomes two and increases at each occasion to be more impactful to get compliance from a child.”

According to data published in SA’s Children: A Review of Equity and Child Rights, one in three parents use severe corporal punishment in the form of beatings.

In spite of a strong legislative framework, corporal punishment remains widespread in schools – where it is illegal – and in homes, where it is hidden from public view.

Unicef strongly believes that the prohibition of all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, is necessary to break the cycle of violence in communities, and it says this is a prerequisite for a society where human dignity is respected and protected.

Unicef representative Aida Girma says: “In South Africa, section 7 of the Children’s Act, 2005, provides that the protection of the child from any physical or psychological harm must be considered when the best interest of the child is applied.

“Corporal punishment in any setting – home, school and the penal system – is a violation of that right and results in physical, emotional and psychological harm.”

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment as any punishment in which physical force is intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort.

It includes hitting children with a hand or object, kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting or pulling their hair, forcing them to stay in uncomfortable positions, locking or tying them up, burning and scalding.

In addition to physical, emotional and psychological harm, corporal punishment teaches children that physical violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution.

On her website Supernanny, Jo Frost says a part of the problem is that many parents confuse discipline with punishment.

She suggests seeing discipline as a way of teaching your child self-control through set rules, instead of a way of controlling your child.

Once you’ve helped to build that sense of self-control you’ve effectively taught your child the skill of disciplining themselves.

She adds: “If discipline isn’t the same as punishment, that definitely rules out spanking.

“Although some parents see spanking as the ideal short, sharp shock, especially if their child is engaging in behaviour that risks his safety, using it for day-to-day punishment risks teaching your child that physical aggression is okay.

“Always keep in mind that you’re aiming to teach your child what behaviour is acceptable.”

Local psychiatrist Shaquir Salduker says with the focus on children’s rights, there has been no reciprocal attention given to the rights of parents and teachers.

He says: “It is not wholly inconceivable that the child would manipulate the circumstances to their own end and leave little recourse for the parent or educator.”

He argues that corporal punishment traditionally has been in the hands of responsible teachers and parents who have had the best interests of their charges at heart, and should not be confused with the gross physical abuse that occurs in dysfunctional homes.

While this may be the case, he does concede that with rising stress levels and the kinds of misdemeanours committed by children, it would be easy for things to get out of hand.

“The perception of corporal punishment in the collective subconscious in this day and age is such that it is viewed as a crime. It might have been appropriate and indeed have worked very well in an era gone by, but that time has passed,” he says. - The Mercury

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