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Wales just made spanking illegal, joining more than 60 countries that have outlawed corporal punishment

Wales just made spanking illegal, joining more than 60 countries that have outlawed corporal punishment

Parents can no longer spank, slap or shake their children according to a new law in Wales.

Parents in Wales can no longer spank, slap, hit or shake kids, according to a new law outlawing all physical punishments for children. According to The Guardian, corporal punishment had been included as "reasonable punishment" in England and Wales since Victorian times, but that defense no longer applies.

"Until now, children were the only group in our society who it was acceptable to strike in certain circumstances," Viv Laing, the policy and public affairs manager at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Cymru Wales, told The Guardian. "We don’t allow the physical punishment of adults or animals, so it is absurd that we have for so long with children.”

But not everyone is happy with the law.


Some conservatives expressed concern that the law would lead to a "Stasi culture" in which citizens become informants and turn in their neighbors to law enforcement for parenting choices. But Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan rejected the notion. “We don’t want people spying,” she said, before adding, “Looking after children is the responsibility of the whole community.”

The law, which applies to both residents of and visitors to Wales, is being hailed as "historic" by the Welsh government. But Wales is hardly the first country to outlaw corporal punishment. In 1979, Sweden became the first nation to make striking a child illegal, and since then, more than 60 other countries have followed suit.

The countries that banned spanking first are regularly rated among the happiest on Earth.

Any time the topic of spanking comes up in the U.S., some people defend the practice as being not only acceptable, but preferable. The adage "spare the rod, spoil the child" (which many people think comes from the Bible—it doesn't) is still alive and well in certain circles, and advocates of corporal punishment claim it's necessary for children to learn what's right and wrong and to exercise self-control. Some are quick to blame everything from disrespect to disobedience to criminal behavior on society's move away from spanking.

But if we look at the countries that outlawed corporal punishment decades ago, those fears of bad behavior and criminality run amok appear comically unfounded. The Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark are pretty much always in the Top 10 lists of happiest nations, and they were four of the first countries to outlaw corporal punishment. They are also in the Top 10 list of safest nations ranked by perception in U.S. News and World Report, so clearly a lack of striking children for misbehaving has not led to some kind of mass societal downfall in those nations.

(For comparison, the U.S. ranked No. 38 on the safest nations by perception list and No. 19 on the happiest nations list. According to the nationwide American Family Survey, nearly half of Americans believe that “it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking.” Correlation isn't causation, of course, but these numbers indicate that spanking kids is not the key to a happy, safe society.)

Research shows that spanking affects the brain in the same way as more severe forms of abuse.

It was one thing to spank kids when people didn't know better and just followed whatever they'd been taught, but we now have the ability to study and research the effects of parenting choices. The research has repeatedly led to the same conclusion: Spanking isn't good for kids.

For instance, a 2021 Harvard study found that spanking can alter a child's brain development in the same way that more severe forms of abuse do.

"We know that children whose families use corporal punishment are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and other mental health problems, but many people don't think about spanking as a form of violence," said senior researcher on the study, Katie A. McLaughlin. "While we might not conceptualize corporal punishment to be a form of violence, in terms of how a child's brain responds, it's not all that different than abuse. It's more a difference of degree than of type."

On top of that, spanking doesn't even appear to work as intended. In the majority of studies analyzed in a review, children's behavior actually worsened after physical punishment with external negative behaviors including aggression, antisocial behavior and disruptive behavior at school increasing over time.

We need to make sure parents are educated about parenting methods other than spanking.

However, if parents who feel that spanking is necessary are to be convinced otherwise, they need to be given tools for parenting. Too many people see spanking as discipline and everything else as permissiveness, which simply isn't the case. There are plenty of ways to raise respectful, contributing humans without hitting them. (For those who don't consider spanking as "hitting," try articulating the difference. Is it not hitting if you're hitting a child on the bottom? Why does that part of the body count any less than their arms or legs or backs or heads?)

There are plenty of alternatives to spanking, but parents may not have the knowledge, experience or support they need to figure out other methods of discipline. Outlawing corporal punishment might be a good way to get parents to stop striking their children, but we need to make sure parents are educated about what to do instead. Perhaps providing parents with free parenting classes throughout their children's childhoods would go just as far, if not further, than merely outlawing spanking and slapping children as a form of punishment.

Writing it into law, however, is a good way for a society to express the importance of children's rights and to impress upon parents the need to find nonviolent ways to interact with and teach their kids.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


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