Ending corporal punishment of children in Swaziland

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3. WHY IS CORPORAL AND HUMILIATINGPUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN WRONG?Over the last decades, the world has recognised that people are entitled to basichuman rights. International and regional bodies such as the United Nations and theAfrican Union have developed standards for the respect of people’s basic humanrights. Hitting and deliberately humiliating people violate their fundamental rights torespect for their physical integrity and human dignity.Children are bearers of human rights from the moment of their birth, and they areentitled to physical integrity and human dignity in the same way as adults. Childrenare human beings that are simply smaller and more fragile than adults. 6Corporal punishment and other forms of humiliating and degrading punishmentbreach children’s fundamental human rights to respect for human dignity andphysical integrity. This has been confirmed in international human rights instrumentssuch as the CRC and the ACRWC (for further information see chapter 6).Despite being in contradiction of international law, corporal punishment and otherforms of humiliating and degrading punishment are in many instances still legalisedand socially-accepted forms of violence against children. The low status of childrenin society and children’s lack of power have prevented a complete prohibition ofcorporal punishment in many countries around the world, including Swaziland.In addition to breaching children’s basic human rights, there is also a body ofevidence from medical, educational and psychological authorities on the negativeeffects of corporal punishment of children.Studies have shown a significant, positive correlation between the frequency ofinterpersonal violence experienced as a child and the approval of the use of interpersonalviolence as an adult. 7 A South African national household survey also found that parentswho agreed with the corporal punishment of children were more likely to experiencehigher levels of partner violence than parents who disagreed with corporal punishment. 8There is strong evidence that corporal punishment places children at risk of physicalinjury, poorer mental health, impaired relationships with parents, weaker internalisationof moral values, anti-social behaviour, and poorer adult adjustment. 9In Swaziland, interpersonal violence is widespread. The use of corporal punishmenton children contributes to a perception from an early age that violence is anappropriate response to conflict and unwanted behaviour. It teaches that it isacceptable for powerful persons to be violent towards the weak and to solveconflicts through violence.A survey among children in Swaziland indicated that the corporal punishment ofchildren can also elicit aggressive behaviour. 108
“My elder brother beat me. He hit me against the wall and clappedme. I really don’t know, he likes beating me and for this I am worried.I find no peace in my life. I feel miserable. I feel sad, and each time Ithink about it I feel sad. I want to commit suicide and never see himagain. I felt like killing him with my bare hands.”Girl 13-18-year age groupResearch shows that corporal punishment is not an effective way to ensure changeof behaviour and discipline among children. If corporal punishment ‘works’ as adeterrent, it should stop unwanted behaviour among ‘difficult’ children. However, ithas been established that in schools where corporal punishment is used, the samelearners are being beaten for the same offences over and over again. Classes withthe fewest behavioural problems over time are run by teachers who are committedto non-violent and child-centred approaches to classroom discipline. 11Corporal punishment works against the process of ethical development. It teacheschildren not to engage in a particular behaviour because they will be beaten.It does not teach them to consider the reasons and ethics for not behaving in aparticular manner. 12It is also important to remember that a large number of children engage in unwantedbehaviour due to practical problems, for example hunger, thirst, lack of rest dueto having to walk long distances to school, stressful or abusive family situations,medical problems, or caring for a sick parent and taking care of siblings due to theHIV/AIDS pandemic. By using a ‘quick fix’ such as corporal punishment and otherforms of humiliating and degrading punishment, an adult might miss the opportunityto deal with the actual problem facing the child. 13 This might lead to a situationwhere children’s rights to food, health care and education are violated in additionto their right to physical integrity.9
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Page 6 and 7: ABBREVIATIONSACRWCCBOCRCNGOUNAfrica
Page 8 and 9: 2. DEFINITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMEN
Page 12 and 13: 4. HOW COMMON IS CORPORAL ANDHUMILI
Page 14 and 15: 5. CHILDREN’S VIEWS OF CORPORAL P
Page 16 and 17: “I was not able to count and I wa
Page 18 and 19: non-violent disciplinary measures i
Page 20 and 21: 6. SWAZILAND’S INTERNATIONAL OBLI
Page 22 and 23: 7. SWAZILAND‘S NATIONAL LAWSIn Sw
Page 24 and 25: 8. FREQUENTLY USED ARGUMENTS JUSTIF
Page 26 and 27: children, the smallest and most vul
Page 28 and 29: Banning corporal punishment will ju
Page 30 and 31: individual child. Below are a few g
Page 32 and 33: easons for the continued use of cor
Page 34 and 35: ResearchNational surveys comprising
Page 36 and 37: END NOTES1 Clacherty, G., Donald, D

Ending corporal punishment of children in Swaziland

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