Despite the progress made worldwide towards eliminating the use of corporal punishment, many parents continue to use corporal punishment to ‘discipline’ their children. In some societies, violence is simply regarded as a normal way of disciplining and controlling children. Consequently, some parents believe that corporal punishment is an appropriate and effective way of bringing up children and that the pain caused by a blow will help the child to learn. Sometimes, parents may not be aware of the negative impact of corporal punishment on a child’s health and development. In other cases, parents resort to corporal punishment because of stress, tension and anger, often because they lack non-violent strategies and approaches to deal with difficult situations. The continued use of corporal punishment clearly demonstrates the need for constructive initiatives to break historical and cultural patterns and to support parents in finding alternative strategies for the challenges of bringing up children.

There is now a growing legal, social and scientific basis for ending corporal punishment of children, which clearly signals that all forms of violence against children are unacceptable. New scientific evidence has increased our understanding of child development and of the negative impact of corporal punishment on children’s health and development[1].

What are the causes of violence?

• Exposure to physical, emotional or sexual abuse
• The influence of the media
• Watching violent programmes
• Video games with a significant emotional impact that affect mental health
• Substance use (alcohol, illegal substances)

What are the consequences of violence?

• Social withdrawal, anti-social behaviour
• The likelihood of the child exhibiting delinquent behaviour
• The likelihood of committing crimes
• Mental health problems, low self-esteem, anxiety and shame, which may even lead to depression
• Poor academic performance and dropping out of school
• Children learn how to behave by observing adults. Parents must make an effort to uphold their values and morals whilst expressing themselves non-violently and setting an example in this regard.

Counselling by professionals is one of the most effective approaches when a person has been a victim of violence or has abused someone else. Today, there is a strong emphasis on anger management techniques, which will help to reduce the incidence of abuse and violence, although research in this field still has a long way to go in tackling people’s need for domination and control.

Violence begets violence!!

[1] https://childrenatrisk.cbss.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NVC_AwarenessRaising2018.pdf