Doctors say spanking children should be banned in England and Northern Ireland

Spanking should be banned across the UK because current laws are “unjust and vague” and make it harder to identify when a child is being abused, children’s doctors have said.

In a report, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) urged ministers in England and Northern Ireland to follow the lead of Wales, where lawmakers banned any form of corporal punishment, including slapping, hitting, slapping and shaking in March 2022 .

A similar ban has been in place in Scotland since November 2020.

Professor Andrew Rowland, consultant paediatrician and child protection officer at the Royal Center for the Protection of Children (RCPCH), said: “Current laws around corporal punishment are unjust and dangerously vague.

“They create a gray area where some forms of corporal punishment may be legal and others are not.”

He said he “frequently encounters situations where corporal punishment is allegedly used on children” but “the ambiguity of the law makes it extremely challenging to discuss the rules with families”, making it even more difficult to talk about the best interests of children.

“The lack of legislative clarity even adds additional complexity when trying to identify situations where: child Abuse,” he said.

Professor Rowland said society’s views on punishment had changed over time, with most adults considering corporal punishment of children unacceptable.

He added that “there must be no gray area” when it comes to protecting children and that changing the law in England and Northern Ireland “will give us absolute clarity”.

Beth Herbert, advocacy expert at the international campaign group End Corporal Punishment, said: “I hope England and Northern Ireland will soon join the growing number of countries taking action to protect children, uphold children’s rights and support health. This fundamental step as well as positive parenting.”

Joanna Barrett, of the NSPCC, said children in England and Northern Ireland “continue to face legal loopholes that could undermine their fundamental rights to protection under the guise of ‘reasonable punishment'”.

But Simon Calvert of Reasonable Movement claimed that calls for a change in the law were “motivated by ideology rather than clinical evidence” and that elected representatives must reject them.

“Current laws strongly prohibit all violence against children while protecting parents from prosecution for innocent and harmless parenting decisions,” he said.

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A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Department of Health said changes to the law would require the consent of the Northern Ireland Executive.

They added: “The Department of Health continues to play an important role in supporting parents and carers of children and young people, particularly by promoting positive parenting behaviours.”

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “Any form of violence against children is completely unacceptable and we have clear laws to prevent it. Parents have a responsibility to discipline their children appropriately and within the law.”

“We are supporting teachers, social workers and all safeguarding professionals to spot signs of abuse or neglect more quickly and our statutory framework for safeguarding children in England makes clear what organizations should do to keep children safe.”