
The International Day to #EndCorporalPunishment is our opportunity to show support for all child victims of corporal punishment and call for better protection of children as human rights holders.
Governments have committed to ending violence against children by 2030, but corporal punishment continues to blight billions of children’s lives worldwide. We know what works and we have eight years to #EndCorporalPunishment. Join us in calling for urgent action to end corporal punishment of children all year round, and especially between 25 – 30 April 2022.
Corporal punishment remains the most common form of violence against children.Worldwide around 4 in 5 of all children aged 2-14 years are subjected to it in their home every year (physical punishment and/or psychological aggression). Research has found strong evidence connecting violent punishment with multiple harmful impacts for the child and society, including significant economic costs.
Corporal punishment violates children’s rightto respect for their human dignity and physical integrity, as well as their rights to health, development, education and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Globally, only 14% of children are fully protected by law from corporal punishment. Its widespread social acceptance means that a degree of violence in childrearing is normalised, entrenching children’s low status in society and opening the door to other forms of violence and mistreatment. As the smallest and most vulnerable members of society, children deserve more, not less, protection from assault.
However, progress is possible and accelerating!40 years ago, only one State had passed a law banning corporal punishment, but today 63 have taken this fundamental step in protecting children and upholding their rights. Prohibition in nations, territories and education and other settings also continues to grow. And there is evidence that when law reform is well implemented it is followed by an ongoing reduction in the acceptance and use of violent punishment across society.
Governments have committed to ending violence against children in Sustainable Development Target 16.2. To end corporal punishment by 2030 this commitment must be urgently translated into action to prohibit and eliminate corporal punishment everywhere.
“Children have consistently expressed the urgent need to stop all this violence. Children testify to the hurt – not only physical, but the ‘hurt inside’ – which this violence causes them, compounded by adult acceptance, even approval of it.”
UN Study on Violence against Children, 2006
Objectives
Despite its very high prevalence and harm to children and society, violent punishment rarely gets the focus or attention it needs. The International Day to #EndCorporalPunishment is our opportunity to call for urgent action to achieve a transformative change for children and society.
The objectives are:
· All governments to act without delay to prohibit and eliminate corporal punishment by 2030
· Organisations and individuals across all contexts and sectors unite to call for urgent action to #EndCorporalPunishment and commit to taking steps towards this goal
· Children’s voices are heard and their right to equal protection from violence is recognised and made real
Key messages
· Governments must act now to prohibit and eliminate corporal punishment of children in all settings of their lives by 2030
· Children experience shockingly high levels of violent punishment, at substantial cost to themselves and society
· Children have the same right as adults to be protected by law from violence, and this includes protection from violent punishment
· Corporal punishment has multiple risks of harm for children and no benefits
· Corporal punishment is associated with lower cognitive development and academic achievement and contributes to school drop-out
· We can and must build non-violent childhoods!
Detajet e Lajmit
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