Complete Abolition of Corporal Punishment

1413 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Corporal Punishment in South African Schools Essay

1. Introduction:
The administration of corporal punishment to children is an archaic practice that has become obsolete, not only in the post-modern era, but within the current constitutional dispensation of South Africa. The Constitution seeks to protect the right to human dignity, bodily integrity, equality, freedom and security of all South African citizens. The administration of corporal punishment on any person clearly would amount to a violation of these fundamental constitutional values, which begs the question as to why corporal punishment to children is permitted. Corporal punishment in South African public life was officially abolished in 1997 by the commencement of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SA Schools Act), the Correctional Services Second Amendment Act 79 of 1996 and the Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act 33 of 1997. The catalyst for this change in position through legislation was the case of S v Williams in 1995, where the court was called upon to judge on the administration of corporal punishment as a punishment for a crime. The Constitutional Court declared it unconstitutional to administer corporal punishment as the human rights to bodily integrity, human dignity and equality were infringed. This essay will strive to evaluate the future of the common-law defence of reasonable chastisement in light of the influence the Constitution may have for further development
2. Nature of the defence
Section 10 of the SA Schools Act was the provision under review in the case of Christian Education South Africa (SA) v Minister of Education. This provision stipulated that no person may administer corporal punishment at a school to a learner, applicable to both State funded and private schools. The court rej...

... middle of paper ...

...e development of this common law position and order the legislature to enact legislation that will give full effect to the rights of children.

Works Cited

Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act 33 of 1997.
Children’s Bill [B 19B-2006]
Correctional Services Second Amendment Act 79 of 1996
Minutes of Social Development Portfolio Committee: Children’s Amendment Bill, 23 October 2007
South African Schools Act 84 of 1996
H Kruger “The legal nature of parental authority” (2003) 66 THRHR 277-284
S Pete “To smack or not to smack? Should the law prohibit South African parents from imposing corporal punishment on their children?” (1998) SAJHR 430 - 460
Christian Education South Africa (SA) v Minister of Education 2000 (4) SA 757 (CC)
S v JB 2012 JDR 1040
S v Kunene and Another, Regional Division of Mpumalanga, Unreported Case No 131/10
S v Williams 1995 (3) SA 632 (CC)

Show More
Related

  • Stephen L. Carter´s Just Be Nice

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dupper, David R. , and Amy E. Montgomery Dingus. "Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools : A Continuing Challenge for School Social Workers." Schools and Children 30.4 (2008): 243-250. Print.

    Read More

  • 31st Amendment to the Constitution

    2234 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...l now be given the power to interfere in cases where parents have failed in their duties towards the child. This is extremely important as it allows the State to intervene in cases where there has been a failure, which was difficult to do in the past. This new role of protecting children's rights is favourable as it will, hopefully, prevent any failure by the State to children in unacceptable circumstances/situation.

    Read More

  • Brendan L. Smith's The Case Against Spanking

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    Swat! The entire store tries not to stare at the overwhelmed mother spanking her three-year-old whaling son. As if the screaming tantrum wasn't enough of a side show at the supermarket. This method, or technique perhaps, has been around for decades, even centuries. Generations have sat on grandpa’s lap and listened to the stories of picking their own switch or getting the belt after pulling off a devilish trick. So why then has it become a major controversy in the past few decades? The newest claim is that spanking and other forms of physical punishment can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. Brendan L. Smith uses many case studies and psychologists findings in his article “The Case Against Spanking” to suggest that parents refrain from physically punishing their children due to lasting harmful effects.

    Read More

  • Smacking Should Be Illegal In Australia

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smacking has become a controversial debate in today’s society as a group of doctors tried to make a smacking of children illegal (Browne 2013). Similarly, smacking caused numerous deaths of children (Browne 2013). Smacking is a physical punishment which was a typical way that parents used to guide their children in past. Moreover, they believe that smacking is more effective and it is acceptable. Physical punishment is illegal in 33 countries, whereas in some states and territories physical punishment by parents is legal as long as it is “reasonable” such as Australia, United State, Britain and Canada (Why smacking should be regarded as a crime 2013). There are several reasons that smacking should be illegal in Australia. Physical punishment leads to aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Furthermore, Australian children have right of protection from violation. Finally, smacking children may lead to death.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Spanking Children Is Not Abusing

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is obvious the position the author of the article "Spanking children isn’t abusing them" has on this point. The author makes two points about the decision Justin Trudeau made in order to keep a campaign promise. The first point is the approach or steps Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving in order to implement one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) recommendations and in the second point the author brings our attention to section 43 and makes a distinction between spanking (use of reasonable force) and Physical punishment where harsh punishment is inflicted to a child. In this paper I will attempt to make a distinction between reasonable force and beating a child and to explore Section 43 of the

    Read More

  • Why Spanking Is Wrong

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    Spanking is an important aspect of a child’s social development and should not be considered an evil form of abuse. In her argument, Debra Saunders says that there is an obvious difference between beating a child and spanking a child, and parents know the boundary. Spanking is the most effective form of discipline when a child knows doing something is wrong, but the child does it anyway. A child who is properly disciplined through spanking is being taught how to control her or his impulses and how to deal with all types of authorities in future environments. Parents can control their child’s future behavior by using spanking in early childhood, because if...

    Read More

  • Assault Or Discipline

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    When describing a physical altercation between two adults, the term is assault and battery. Assault on an individual has more than immediate effects; the effects can last a lifetime in severe cases. In all fifty states, it is a crime to hit, strike or use corporal punishment in any deliberate manner towards any person over the age of eighteen. However, this law does not apply to physical force being used on minors. Spanking, whipping, and paddling are among a few common references to this form of punishment. Physically disciplining children has had many names over the years. No matter which term is used, corporal punishment has a negative impact on every party involved. It is a widely used, socially accepted method of discipline. “Approximately 94% of three and four-year old children have been spanked in the past year (Slade & Winssow 1321). Although spanking is a widespread practice, it is becoming more controversial. The negative effects of spanking greatly outweigh the benefits. Spanking is a socially tolerated view promoting abusive patterns, and has a negative psychological impact in teaching children that pain, fear, and confusion promote conformability.

    Read More

  • Bring Back Flogging

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Bring Back Flogging” Jeff Jacoby, a columnist for the Boston Globe, presents the use of corporal punishment as an alternative to the current system of imprisonment. Published in February of 1997, the article states that flogging would be a more effective means of punishment than jail. He insists it would be less expensive and serve as a deterrent to first time offenders. Jacoby’s thoughts on prison reform are legitimate, but his reasoning behind the use of corporal punishment is flawed. He fails to provide reasonable support for his argument which leaves the reader guessing as to the seriousness of his claim.

    Read More

  • Spanking: Discipline or Abuse – Who Decides?

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main issue, as is so often the case with controversial subjects has been lost along the way. Everyone has become caught up in the right vs. left fight and ensuing name calling so few people are truly paying attention to the children themselves. America already has enough laws. What parents need most is education and support, not legislation. Also, those without children need to mind their own business and stick to subjects they have experience with, not just opinions. Having been a child does not give one insight into how to raise a child.

    Read More

  • Spanking: Parents Must Decide

    1925 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever been spanked? Maybe smacked? We all have our own stories of how our parents disciplined us, we take them as funny stories and even joke about them. If you were born in the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s, you already know what I’m talking about and I bet many stories already ran through your mind right now. But as we grew up and time passed by, there has been this dilemma about this method of parenting. [2] “Parents feel mixed-up and uncomfortable about disciplining their children”. Few parents in modern times do not trust this kind of act of physical punishment at home and they think that is detrimental for kids. Therefore, a good amount of parents are trying to make the government restrict the parents who spank from doing so.

    Read More

  • Child Discipline Vs Child Abuse Essay

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Miller, Cindy, and Robin, the primary advantage with corporal punishment is that it is the only practical approach to discipline the unruly children (68). Apparently, the opponents of corporal punishment argue that the power of physical punishment does not instill behaviors or manners, but provokes further misbehavior and resentment. However, centuries have proved that spanking kids have produced more civilized and reliable young people. A practical example is during the American Occupation in the Philippines, where spanking and any other form of corporal punishment were applied to all the students who disobeyed the school rules, to be particular, the English-only rule. The approach led to the production of more disciplined Filipino students, who turned to be multilingual and academically competent (Miller, Cindy, and Robin 69). Nevertheless, in the current world, with the prohibition and restrictions of corporal punishment under the human right laws, there is a rapid rise in the number of juvenile delinquents every year. Consequently, the infliction of physical pain by spanking or whipping is associated with disciplining the wrongdoing kids, where they can realize their mistakes, and end up not repeating them. Therefore, corporal punishment is the most practical form of punishing the unruly kids than any other means (Engulu

    Read More

  • Negative Essay: Should Smacking Be Spanking A Child?

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay, smacking is defined as spanking a child with the purpose to either discipline or punish. Professor Murray characterizes beating as the utilization of physical power with the expectation of making a child encounter torment yet not causing them to get injured, with the end goal of controlling their child’s attitude. The most frequent physical punishment which is categorized as sensible include the age of the child and the form of punishment. The negative impacts on smacking a child can be seen as research shows it reduces cognitive ability by lowering the IQ. However, there is an argument which states that there is a positive relationship between harsh discipline and how a child deals with problems in later life. This may be true in some cases but smacking may create kids to have bad mental health such as low self-esteem. Consequently, smacking children should be made illegal.

    Read More

  • The Controversy Around Corporal Punishment

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Spanking Should Be Illegal” is a composition written by Dr. Kerby T. Alvy, the Founder and Executive Director of Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, and child p discussed the debate on if corporal punishment should be legalized. Dr. Alvy gives a brief overview of what corporal punishment is and what it consists of. In this article those who are against outlawing spanking use bible scriptures trying to make a distinction between abusive corporal punishments versus normal corporal punishments to rationalize their argument. While those in favor of the ban mentions the various studies that depicts the negative effects th...

    Read More

  • Corporal Punishment In American Families

    254 Words  | 1 Pages

    Corporal punishment is a popular disciplinary technique in many American families. A study conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff revealed strong associations between corporal punishment and eleven child behaviors and experiences. This meta-analysis incorporated 62 years of collected data from 88 studies. It looked at positive and negative behaviors in children that were associated with corporal punishment. The behaviors and experiences noted were “…several in childhood (immediate compliance, moral internalization, quality of relationship with parent, and physical abuse from that parent), three in both childhood and adulthood (mental health, aggression, and criminal or antisocial behavior) and one in adulthood alone (abuse of own children

    Read More

  • Importance Of Corporal Punishment In Schools

    2105 Words  | 5 Pages

    Corporal punishment means to educate by implement of physical pain on learners in order to enhance their ability of studying. As we know, students will often follow the instructions which given by their instructor. However, if they don’t, many instructors are likely to introduce the corporal punishment such as hitting, slapping, spanking and kicking rather than promotes the oral education method to force their students to have a better performance. Gradually, corporal punishment have become a widely known phenomenon all over the world. According to the Department of Education’s 2006 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), it clearly showed that a total of 223,190 students without disabilities received corporal punishment in that year around the

    Read More

More about Complete Abolition of Corporal Punishment

Open Document