UK rules on smacking

Spare the rod spoil the child - 22nd May 2023

A law proposed by activists to prohibit corporal punishment has been repudiated by the UK government, leaving the smacking of minors legal.

Backing its rejection of the ban, the government feels they shouldn’t infringe upon the rights of parents to discipline minors the way they deem fit. The Department of Education stressed, "The government does not condone any violence towards children and has clear laws in place to prevent it."

This stance has been met with major push back from children’s charities and activists The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s chief executive, Sir Peter Wanless argued, "It cannot be right that in this country it is illegal to hit an adult, but equal protection is not given to a child."

Within the bounds of "reasonable chastisement" parents and guardians are permitted to discipline children in England and Northern Ireland. The Children Act of 2004 outlines assault resulting in grievous bodily harm or child cruelty as unreasonable and illegal.

Nevertheless, objections have been raised by concerned children’s charities and rights activists who call for a clear cut ban, stressing that it’s open to interpretation as to what reasonable chastisement looks like.

An opinion poll reveals that a majority of the population oppose the government’s reluctance to ban corporal punishment. A YouGov survey in England disclosed that two thirds of the participants consider physically chastising children taboo, although failing to shed light on whether or not they’d be onboard with the government's interference on parental discipline.

Passing legislation on the matter has been a slow process in the UK. Corporal punishment was made illegal in state schools in 1986, whereas in Northern Ireland, teachers in private schools were still at liberty to strike students up until the early 2000s. However, it’s only in 2020 and 2022 respectively, that Scotland and Wales have unequivocally banned all forms of corporal punishment.

The issue appears to be becoming less divisive. However, the government may remain reluctant to act for the foreseeable future, which until then, leaves what’s considered reasonable chastisement in the hands of parents and carers in England and Northern Ireland.