Ending Corporal Punishment - Swedish Experience of Efforts to Prevent All Forms of Violence Against Children and the Results - Global Initiative ...
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Ending Corporal Punishment
Swedish Experience of Efforts
to Prevent All Forms of Violence
Against Children and the Results
Ending Corporal Punishment 12 Ending Corporal Punishment
Ending Corporal
CONVENTION ON
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Punishment
10 YEARS
Ending Corporal Punishment 3Ending Corporal Punishment
Publisher: Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Author: Barbro Hindberg
Graphical production: Ingmarie Holmegard
Printed by: Graphium Västra Aros, January 2001
This publication can be ordered at
the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (Social Services
Division), SE-103 33 Stockholm,
fax +46 8 10 36 33
E-mail adress: registrator@social.ministry.se.
Article. no S2001.015
4 Ending Corporal PunishmentContents
Preface 7
Corporal punishment and legal history 10
The passing of the law against corporal punishment 11
Not just corporal punishment 13
A provision to create opinion 13
Strong support in Sweden for
the ban on corporal punishment 14
Progressively fewer children beaten 15
Consequences of corporal punishment 17
Child rearing in different cultures 18
1. Authoritarian upbringing 19
2. Authoritative pattern 19
3. Permissive pattern 19
4. Indifferent pattern 19
Attitudes to corporal punishment in various countries 20
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 22
Concluding remarks 23
Ending Corporal Punishment 56 Ending Corporal Punishment
Preface the protection of children from
violence expressly: Article 19 requi-
res states to take:
The childs right all appropriate legislative,
not to be beaten administrative, social and educa-
tional measures to protect the
Corporal punishment of children child from all forms of physical
often becomes inhuman or degra- or mental violence, injury or
ding, and it always violates their abuse, neglect or negligent treat-
physical integrity, demonstrates ment, maltreatment or exploita-
disrespect for human dignity and tion, including sexual abuse,
undermines self-esteem. The fact while in the care of parent(s),
that it is seen as permissible to ill- legal guardian(s) or any other
treat children in manners which person who has the care of the
would not be allowed in relation child...
to adults, breaches the principle of
equal protection under the law. Given the holistic nature of the
Children have had to wait until last Convention, various other articles
to be given legal protection which reinforce the childs right to physi-
the rest of us take for granted. It is cal integrity and protection of his or
extraordinary that children, whose her human dignity. The Preamble
developmental state and small size recognizes the inherent dignity and
is acknowledged to make them equal and inalienable rights of all
particularly vulnerable to physical members of the human family. It
and psychological injury, should be also affirms that precisely because
singled out for less protection from of their physical and mental imma-
assaults on their fragile bodies, turity, children need special safe-
minds and dignity. guards and care, including appropri-
ate legal protection. Article 37
These arguments surfaced in the requires protection from torture or
late 1970s in Sweden, in particular other cruel, inhuman or degrading
after a shocking case became treatment or punishment. Also, the
known about a child beaten to State must ensure that school disci-
death by her own stepfather. They pline is administered in a manner
formed the basis for a movement consistent with the childs human
for the protection of children dignity and in conformity with the
against such assaults. The Parlia- rest of the Convention (Art. 28).
ment (Riksdag) responded by ban- States must recognize the right of
ning corporal punishment. This the child to the highest attainable
publication is about that discussion standard of health and take all
and what happened after the decisi- effective and appropriate measures
on. with a view to abolishing traditional
practices prejudicial to the health
The Convention on the Rights of of children (Art.24).
the Child deals with this issue. The
Convention is the first international It is not surprising, therefore, that
human rights instrument to address the Committee on the Rights of the
Ending Corporal Punishment 7Child has consistently stated that ce, they agreed that zero tolerance
legal and social acceptance of cor- is the only possible target.
poral punishment of children,
whether in their homes or in insti- Also other UN human rights moni-
tutions, is not compatible with the toring bodies have taken up the
Convention. The Committee has issue. The Committee against Tor-
recommended prohibition of all ture has stated that corporal pu-
corporal punishment, including in nishment is inconsistent with the
the family, and has suggested cam- Convention against Torture and
paigns to raise awareness of the Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degra-
negative effects of corporal punish- ding Treatment or Punishment. The
ment and to encourage the deve- Human Rights Committee, which
lopment of positive, non-violent oversees implementation of the
child-rearing and educational prac- International Covenant on Civil
tices. and Political Rights, emphasized in
General Comments issued in 1982
As early as 1993, the Committee and 1992, that the Covenants bar
recognized the importance of the on inhuman or degrading treatment
issue of corporal punishment in and punishment (Art. 7) must
improving the system of promotion extend to corporal punishment,
and protection of the rights of the including excessive chastisement
child and decided to continue to ordered as a punishment for a
devote attention to it in the process crime or as an educative or discipli-
of examining States Parties reports. nary measure.
The Committees Guidelines for
Periodic Reports ask whether legis- Ten countries, so far, have explicitly
lation (criminal and/or family law) banned all corporal punishment of
includes a prohibition of all forms children. In addition, Italys Supre-
of physical and mental violence, me Court has outlawed it, but this
including corporal punishment, is not yet reflected in statute. In
deliberate humiliation, injury, abu- Finland, the ban on corporal pu-
se, neglect or exploitation, inter alia nishment formed part of a compre-
within the family, in foster and hensive reform of childrens law.
other forms of care, and in public The Child Custody and Right of
or private institutions, such as penal Access Act 1983 begins with a sta-
institutions and schools. tement of positive principles of care
for children, and continues: A child
Just as the Committee on the Eli- shall be brought up in the spirit of
mination of Discrimination against understanding, security and love.
Women has been preoccupied with He shall not be subdued, corporally
domestic violence to women, so the punished or otherwise humiliated.
Committee on the Rights of the His growth towards independence,
Child is now leading the challenge responsibility and adulthood shall
to violence to children. When re- be encouraged, supported and assis-
presentatives of these two Commit- ted. Here again, the reform in fa-
tees met in 1998 in Geneva to mily law puts beyond doubt that
discuss action against family violen- the criminal law applies equally to
8 Ending Corporal Punishmentassaults committed against children for their person and individuality
by parents and other carers. and may not be subjected to corpo-
ral punishment or any other humi-
Norway and Austria implemented liating treatment. One intention is
similar reforms in the late 1980s. In to emphasize beyond doubt that
1997, the Danish Parliament appro- the criminal code on assault covers
ved an amendment to the Parental corporal punishment, although
Custody and Care Act which reads: trivial offences remain unpunished
A child has the right to care and just as trivial assaults between
security. He or she shall be treated adults are not prosecutable.
with respect as an individual and
may not be subjected to corporal The purpose of criminalizing all
punishment or other degrading corporal punishment is not, of cour-
treatment. In 1986, the Danish se, to prosecute and punish more
Parliament had amended its civil parents. It satisfies human rights by
law to state that parental custody giving children equal protection of
implies the obligation to protect their physical integrity and human
the child against physical and psy- dignity. It gives a clear message that
chological violence and against oth- hitting children is wrong at least
er harmful treatment. But this was as wrong as hitting anyone else.
interpreted as allowing milder Thus it provides a consistent basis
forms of corporal punishment, and for child protection and for public
research found that they were still education promoting positive forms
prevalent; hence the need for of discipline. As attitudes change, so
further and more explicit reform. the need for prosecution and for
formal interventions into families to
Cyprus, Croatia, Latvia, Germany protect children will diminish.
and, most recently, Israel have also
passed laws that prohibit corporal As this publication spells out, the
punishment and several others have goals of the ban were to alter public
proposals to do so. In Belgium, the attitudes towards corporal punish-
government is now considering an ment, establish a clear framework
explicit ban. for parent education and support,
and facilitate earlier and less intru-
Globally, the end of corporal pu- sive intervention in child-protection
nishment in schools and the penal cases. Public support for corporal
system is in sight. In addition to punishment has also declined mar-
reforms led by legal challenges in kedly since 1979. Public opinion
Namibia and South Africa, recently surveys show that children them-
Ethiopia, Korea, New Zealand and selves overwhelmingly oppose cor-
Uganda have banned it in schools poral punishment.
and care institutions.
THOMAS HAMMARBERG
The legal provision in Sweden Ambassador
forms part of the family (civil) law: Personal Representative of the
Children are entitled to care, secu- Swedish Prime Minister for
rity and a good upbringing. Child- the UN General Assembly
ren are to be treated with respect Special Session on Children
Ending Corporal Punishment 9Spare the rod and spoil parents and, accordingly, the strong
the child, the saying used to against the weak. The same basic
go. Also in Sweden corporal view was present in the 1864 Cri-
punishment was previously minal Justice Act, which laid down
considered necessary in or- that if anyone committed
der for children to grow up manslaughter against a linear relati-
into competent, responsible ve, e.g. a parent or grandparent,
members of society. Beating against a guardian or against his or
children was even regarded her master, this was to be treated as
as a parental duty. However, an exceptionally aggravating cir-
corporal punishment is no cumstance.
longer seen as a necessary or
a justifiable method of up- Corporal punishment could be ad-
bringing. ministered not only to children but
to servants as well. The Statute of
Servants entitled the master to re-
sort to corporal punishment. Do-
Corporal mestic flogging was a means of
maintaining morality and discipline
punishment among underaged servant girls and
farm hands, but also of disciplining
and legal the wife and children. Following
the repeal of this statute in 1920,
servants no longer needed to acqu-
history iesce in being beaten or hounded at
work, but children could still be
Views on the legality of violence beaten. The 1920 Children (Legiti-
have varied in Sweden depending mate) Act entitled parents to chas-
on by whom and on whom it was tise their children. Since then the
practised. In olden times, the hus- law has been successively changed,
band/father was entitled to use and there is no Swedish law today
violence both on his wife and on his entitling adults to use any form of
children. The man came at the top violence on children. Mileposts of
of the hierarchy, followed by the this development include the follo-
woman and, furthest down, the wing:
children. The children counted for
least, and accordingly, crimes The very first ban on corporal
against them were not taken very punishment in schools was enac-
seriously. A commentary on the ted in 1918 but only applied to
1734 Law stated that if a father the senior grades of elementary
chastised his child to death, the school. The prohibition was
crime must be considered less seve- later expanded to other types of
re than, for example, if he had bea- schools until finally, in 1962, it
ten his wife to death. A very serious applied to the entire school sys-
view was taken, on the other hand, tem.
of crimes committed by children
against their parents. The law con- The right of administering cor-
sistently protected the rights of poral punishment to children
10 Ending Corporal Punishmentwas deleted from the Children
and Parents Code in 1966, with The passing of
the result that the provisions of
the Penal Code on assault beca-
me fully applicable to corporal
the law against
punishment of children as well.
corporal
The ban on corporal punish-
ment became part of the Child- punishment
ren and Parents Code in 1979.
A tragic case of child abuse occur-
Legislation passed in 1982 equa- red in Sweden in 1971, when a
ted assault in private places, e.g. four-year-old girl was battered to
in the home, with assault any- death by her stepfather. The public
where else. Up till then, assault reaction was strong and this resul-
(except in aggravated cases) was ted among other things in the for-
a complainable crime. The mation of Childrens Rights in So-
victim had to personally report ciety (BRIS). The new organisation
the offence to the police if the started a helpline for children in
assault had occurred in a private difficulty and campaigned for bet-
place, as was most often the case ter conditions for children at risk.
when women and children were In 1977 the Government appointed
assaulted. The change in the law a committee to investigate in which
now made it clear that violence cases and how the needs and rights
is never a private matter. of children could be better provi-
ded for. The committee adopted the
name of The Childrens Rights
In 1990 Sweden ratified the UN
Commission and in 1978 presen-
Convention on the Rights of the
ted an interim report entitled
Child.
Childrens Rights. Prohibiting Corpo-
ral Punishment 1. Arguments advan-
From the legal point of view, all ced by the Committee in favour of
loopholes in the law have now been a statutory prohibition of corporal
closed, in such a way that nobody punishment included the following:
can any longer justify the use of
violence by claiming that it was
At the beginning of the 20th
necessary or reasonable. But the
century it was still implicitly
task of making this known and of
assumed that the child should
conditioning attitudes is a never-
obey its parents and authorities
ending one.
without murmur. Children were
ascribed no independent stan-
ding and as a rule were not allo-
wed to voice their opinions.
Corporal punishment followed
in the wake of this insistence on
1. Justitiedepartementet (the unconditional obedience...
Swedish Ministry of Justice): The
Right of the Child . Prohibiting Corpo-
ral Punishment. (Barnets rätt. Om
förbud mot aga) (SOU 1978:10)
Ending Corporal Punishment 11Gradually society has chan- Tackling real assault against
ged. Independent thinking and children can be difficult so long
the sense of responsibility, both as it is not perfectly clear that
for oneself and for others, have violence may not be used in any
come to be seen as increasingly form in the upbringing of child-
important prerequisites of the ren.
democratic social order. The
concept of the child as an inde- For these reasons the Minister of
pendent individual with rights Justice took the view that corporal
of its own has become more punishment of children should be
prominent. This calls for a form expressly prohibited. He stated :
of child education based on in-
teraction, care and mutual A provision of this kind will
respect. mark the end of a process of
legal development whereby
The report was referred for consi- society has increasingly turned
deration to a large number of natio- against corporal punishment as a
nal authorities and NGOs, nearly means of upbringing. This deve-
all of which seconded the proposed lopment in turn reflects the now
ban on corporal punishment. prevalent view of the child as an
independent individual entitled
As a result of the statutory change to full respect for his/her per-
in 1966, the Children and Parents son.
Code no longer contained any wor-
ding that could justify corporal The Government moved for the
punishment of children. On the addition of a ban on corporal pu-
other hand there was no provision nishment to the Children and Pa-
expressly prohibiting such punish- rents Code. The proposal was car-
ment. The question was whether ried by a large majority (259 votes
any such provision was needed. to 6), making Sweden the first
Commenting on the Governments country in the world to prohibit
Bill to prohibit corporal punish- corporal punishment and other
ment 2 the Minister of Justice sta- degrading treatment of children.
ted partly as follows: The Section of the Children and
Parents Code prohibiting corporal
Child psychiatrists and child punishment has been enlarged since
psychologists have long agreed 1979 and now reads as follows:
that all corporal punishment of
children is inappropriate. This Children are entitled to care,
view has steadily gained ground security and a good upbringing.
among the general public as They shall be treated with re-
well. Even milder forms of pu- spect for their person and their
nishments can jeopardise the distinctive charactere and may
childs harmonic development
2. Government Bill Prop.
1978/79:67 to prohibit corporal
punishment
12 Ending Corporal Punishmentnot be subjected to corporal judged sufficient and apply equally
punishment or any other humi- to children and adults. So the pur-
liating treatment. pose of the legislation against cor-
poral punishment of children is not
to punish those who beat their
children but, primarily, to mobilise
Not just opinion. In the Government Bill,
the Minister of Justice wrote as
corporal follows:
punishment Information and education,
to alter the attitudes of parents
and others who deal with child-
The law has come to be known ren and young persons is prefe-
above all for its prohibition of the rable to relying on penal sanc-
corporal punishment of children, tions
but it also includes other humilia-
ting treatment. The Government
Bill states that the ban is directed A clear prohibition of corpo-
against treatment which endangers ral punishment in the Children
the childs personal development. and Parents Code would prov-
The information brochure about ide valuable pedagogical support
the new legislation (see below) for efforts to convince parents
gives the following instances of and others that no form of vio-
humiliating treatment: locking a lence may be used in the up-
child up, threatening, frightening, bringing of children. Like the
ostracising or ridiculing the child. Commission I consider it impor-
Putting it quite simply, humiliating tant that the change in the law
treatment means words and actions is realized by effective, ongoing
threatening the childs self-esteem. information about the new pro-
Humiliating treatment can be insi- vision. If not, it is liable to beco-
dious and is less easily discovered me a paper product.
than corporal punishment.
The Ministry of Justice did in fact
take vigorous action to publicise
A provision to
the new law. It initiated and funded
an information campaign on televi-
sion and in other mass media. Infor-
create opinion mation was printed on milk cartons
and a brochure entitled Can You
The prohibition of corporal punish- Bring Up Children Successfully with-
ment in the Children and Parents out Smacking and Spanking? was
Code is unaccompanied by any distributed to all households with
penal sanctions. Milder forms of children and translated into English,
physical or mental violence to German, French, Spanish and vari-
children is not punished under any ous other languages. This informa-
special provisions. The assault pro- tion campaign had the effect of
visions of the Penal Code have been acquainting a large majority of the
Ending Corporal Punishment 13population with the new legislation middle school pupils in favour was
and the reasons for it. even smaller, 6 per cent.
At the time of its enactment, the The latest survey of attitudes to
law against corporal punishment corporal punishment was carried
was considered a radical measure in out in 2000 by the Committee on
the surrounding world. When com- Child Abuse and Related Issues, a
mented on internationally, in some Government Commission 4. The
countries it was ridiculed or viewed survey included a study of attitudes
as an intrusion on private life and a among school children. Only 2 per
threat to the liberty of parents in cent of children in middle school
bringing up their children. Since found it acceptable for a parent to
then, however, several countries box or slap a childs ears in the heat
have followed Swedens example. of the moment. The same response
The other Nordic countries, Aus- was obtained from 20-year-olds.
tria, Cyprus, Croatia, Latvia, Ger- The negative attitude of Swedish
many and Israel now have laws children and youngsters to corporal
banning corporal punishment, and punishment can probably be put
other countries are in the process to down to the information supplied
follow. in schools concerning the ban on
corporal punishment and the UN
Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Children today are aware
Strong support that adults are not entitled to hit
them.
in Sweden Parents are aware of this, too. The
for the ban information supplied to the general
public when the law against corpo-
ral punishment was first passed has
on corporal since been followed by parental
support/education. Expectant
punishment couples and persons who have just
become parents are offered paren-
tal education in groups, the mother
A survey in 1965 showed that 53
per cent of Swedens population
regard corporal punishment as an
indispensable part of childrens
upbringing. Since then the percen- 3. Statistics Sweden, SCB):
tage in favour has fallen steadily. Children and Corporal Punishment
In a survey by Statistics Sweden (Barn och aga) 1996:1
(SCB) in 1996 3, only 11 per cent
4. Socialdepartementet (The
of the adults taking part expressed
Swedish Ministry of Health and Social
themselves in favour of corporal Affairs): Children and Abuse. Suppor-
punishment of children, at least in tive Documentation for the Committe
its milder forms. The proportion of on Child Abuse and Related Issues.
(Barn och misshandel. Ett kunskaps-
underlag för Kommittén mot barn-
misshandel) 2000
14 Ending Corporal Punishmentand child health care clinics. Topics then, grew up before corporal pu-
dealt with include aspects of child nishment was made illegal. Recent-
education and corporal punish- ly, as adults, they were interviewed
ment. about their experiences of corporal
punishment during their formative
One finds that attitudes to corporal years 5. The results show, among
punishment in Sweden have beco- other things, that all the intervie-
me increasingly negative since the wees were subjected to corporal
1960s and are far more negative punishment at some time or other
than in other countries. The ban on between the ages of one and 16.
corporal punishment has strong Corporal punishment was most
support of the Swedish population; common between the ages of 18
among children as well as adults. months and six years, peaking at
four years. Repeated violence in the
course of upbringing was most
common at the age of 18 months.
Progressively 32 per cent of the daughters and 46
per cent of the sons were corporally
fewer children punished by their mothers every
day at this age. Fathers beat their
children far less often.
beaten Another of the main survey fin-
Attitudes are one thing. What dings is that mothers experience
people do in practice may be of violence during childhood had
another. Is there a correspondance some bearing on the extent to
between the attitude to corporal which they themselves hit their
punishment and the use of it, or do children. This connection did not
Swedish parents use physical vio- apply to fathers. Their corporal
lence in bringing up their children, punishment of children was instead
even though they disapprove of it? explained as an enlargement of
Several surveys show that the nega- corporal punishment by the mo
tive attitude to corporal punish- thers. The maternal method of im-
ment has also had an impact on posing discipline was infectious, so
parenting practices. to speak. This survey indicates that,
for children living in a Stockholm
In a longitudinal Swedish study, suburb during the 1950s and 1960s,
212 randomly selected children corporal punishment was a part of
born between 1955 and 1958 were everyday life.
followed up from the age of one
until they were 36. These children, Sweden is taking part in an interna-
tional research project aimed at
investigating the connection be-
tween attitudes and corporal pu-
nishment. One Swedish study in
5. Stattin, Hansson, Klackenberg- the project includes 272 students
Larsson och Magnusson: Corporal punish-
ment in everyday life: an intergenerational
perspective. In McCord, J: Coercion and
punishment in longterm perspectives.
Cambridge University Press 1998
Ending Corporal Punishment 15aged between 18 and 64 (M26) 6. One year after corporal punishment
Some of these students, then, were was outlawed, a study was made of
born before corporal punishment the extent of violence to children in
was outlawed, but the majority of Sweden 7. A comparison between
them grew up after the law was this study and the study carried out
passed. by the Committee on Child Abuse
and Related Issues shows that the
35 per cent of the students state use of corporal punishment has
that they were subjected to corpo- declined considerably in the past
ral punishment at some time during 20 years. Asked whether the parent
their childhood. This group is do- had used some form of physical
minated by those who were subjec- violence in the last year, 8 per cent
ted to slight violence on isolated answered yes (1980 51 per cent)
occasions. This is a far smaller pro- and 16 per cent that it had happe-
portion than in the study mentio- ned more than ten times (1980 40
ned above, and also far smaller than per cent). Summing up, fewer
in the other countries in the com- children are being corporally punis-
parative material. In practically all hed, and those who do experience
the other countries, twice as many corporal punishment, do so less
students reported being corporally frequently than used to be the case.
punished during childhood. Those
students (22 per cent) who were A questionnaire study of school
subjected to severe corporal pu- children in the survey carried out
nishment at some time or other by the Committee Against Child
were among the older members of Abuse and Related Issues (see note
the survey population. 4) shows:
86 per cent have never been
The results also indicate that corpo- corporally punished by either
ral punishment is not an isolated parent,
problem but part of a pattern of 8 per cent have been corpo-
family violence. In almost half the rally punished by their mothers
families where corporal punish- and 7 per cent by their fathers
ment was practised, other violence on some isolated occasion,
occurred as well. The study also
showed a connection between the 1 per cent received frequent
familys socio-economic status and corporal punishment from their
the parents level of education. mothers and 2 per cent from
Those who grew up in families with their fathers.
poor finances and poorly educated
parents received more corporal
punishment than others. Those
subjected to corporal punishment 6. Fäldt, Johan: Student´s Experience
described their childhood in more of Corporal Punishment and Violence in the
negative terms and were less con- Home.(Studenters erfarenheter av kroppslig
bestraffning i barndomen.) Department of
tented than those who had not
Psychology, University of Stockholm. 2000
been corporally punished. 95 per
cent of the students in the survey 7. Edfeldt, Åke: In as much as... .
population strongly opposed corpo- Final report of the SUSA Project on Corporal
ral punishment. Punishment and Violence in the Home
(Allt vad i gören . Slutrapport från SUSA
16 Ending Corporal Punishment projektet om aga och våld i hemmet) Propri-
us Stockholm 1985As regards background factors, the rise to feelings of guilt and shame.
familys financial circumstances are The effects of corporal punishment
the most critical factor deciding are especially serious and profound
whether or not violence is used in if it is combined with a frosty atti-
the upbringing of children. Violen- tude, dissociation or a directly hos-
ce occurs more often in families tile attitude to the child.
with financial problems.
It is common for children who have
Summing up, this very recent study been corporally punished to beco-
shows that a large majority of 10- me aggressive themselves and to
and 12-year olds in Sweden have have difficulty in feeling empathy.
never been subjected to corporal Children who bully others and
punishment and that regular corpo- commit criminal offences from an
ral punishment is very unusual. early age have often experienced
violence and aggression in their
families. In an article in the newspa-
per Dagens Nyheter (1996-12-21),
the Norwegian child psychologist
Magne Raundalen was interviewed
Consequences concerning the importance of child-
hood experiences for mans inhu-
of corporal manity to man. The article was
headed: Discipline is the Root of
Evil. Among other things, Magne
punishment Raundalen had the following to say:
Corporal punishment can cause There are always people who
slight corporal injuries. Violence stand up to evil. What they all
causing more serious corporal inju- have in common is that they
ry is assault and has to be treated as grew up in a loving environment
a crime. There is, however, no clear without too much discipline or
limit between corporal punishment punishment. Empathy makes
and abuse. One reason for also ta- people human, and it has to be
king a serious view of slight violen- encouraged in children. Re-
ce is that corporal punishment search has shown domination
tends eventually to give way to and severe punishment to cha-
more serious violence. Accordingly, racterise the domestic climate
reduction of corporal punishment is of children who bully others.
one means of preventing abuse
against children. The most serious The psychological consequences of
consequence of corporal punish- corporal punishment have been
ment, then, is not of a medical na- poorly researched. The American
ture but concerns its harmful psyc- researcher Murray A. Straus puts
hological effects. this down to the legal and moral
legitimacy of corporal punishment
Corporal punishment amounts to a in the USA and the fact of corporal
violation of the child which can punishment of children being more
undermine its self-esteem and give or less routine. The lack of empiri-
Ending Corporal Punishment 17cal research into the connection showed that the childrens feeling
between corporal punishment and of rejection was proportional to the
mental problems like depression, frequency and severity of their pu-
Straus maintains, is probably no nishment. The more rejected they
coincidence but the result of selec- felt, the poorer their mental state of
tive inattention. Straus has investi- health. Children regarding corporal
gated the connection between cor- punishment as an acceptable met-
poral punishment of teenagers and hod of upbringing were harmed just
depression and thoughts of suicide. as much as those who did not. Soci-
The findings point to the existence al acceptance of corporal punish-
of such a connection. The more ment, then, does not alleviate its
corporal punishment young persons harmful effects.
had suffered, the more depressive
symptoms they presented and the
more often they contemplated sui-
cide. No difference was found bet-
ween boys and girls and it made no
Child rearing
difference whether the corporal
punishment was inflicted by the in different
mother or father. 8
cultures
The existence of a relationship be-
tween severe upbringing and beha- Affection and control are key words
vioural problems, antisocial behavi- in the bringing up of children. Af-
our and criminal behaviour is fection means the parent having a
strongly supported by research. capacity for empathy, being re-
sponsive to the childs needs and
Do the harmful effects of corporal responding adequately to its signals.
punishment vary with the prevai- Control means making demands on
ling attitude to corporal punish- the child, defining limits and teach-
ment in society? Does corporal ing the child socially acceptable
punishment in itself cause mental behaviour. On the basis of combi-
injury or does it only cause harm if nations of affection and control,
the child feels rejected at the same various patterns can be distinguis-
time? Do the harmful mental ef- hed:
fects vary according to the childs
own attitude to corporal punish-
ment?
8. Straus, M.A.: Corporal punish-
These questions have been investi- ment of children and adult depression
gated in St Kitts in the West Indies, and suicidal ideation i McCord, J (red.):
a former British colony 9. The po- Coercion and punishment in long-term
perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
pulation studied comprised child- 1998
ren between the ages of nine and
12. The results revealed a faint but 9. Ronald P. Rohner, Kevin J. Kean,
significant connection between David E. Cournoyer: Effects of Corporal
corporal punishment and negative Punishment, Perceived Caretaker
Warmth, and Cultural Beliefs on the
psychological adjustment. They also
Psychological Adjustment of Children in
St. Kitts, West Indies. Journal of Marriage
and the Family 53/1991
18 Ending Corporal Punishment1. Authoritarian upbringing tern is most common. Parents have
a close emotional relationship with
This emphasises the importance of
their children and control is exerci-
obedience to authorities. Uncondi-
sed through non-authoritarian met-
tional obedience is required from
hods. This means that parents trust
the child, with no discussions or
that their children not always need
explanations. The authoritarian
supervision and strict limits but are
pattern of child rearing is also dis-
able to cope with a fairly generous
tinguished by lack of affection in
amount of freedom from a relative-
the parent-child relationship.
ly early age.
2. Authoritative pattern
This Swedish freedom is some-
The parent has control over the times viewed by families of foreign
child but exercises that control by origin as if principles and rules
arguing and explaining to the child. don´t excist. They do not perceive
He or she is open to discussion and any exercise of control when the
receptive to the childs viewpoints. methods differ from those which
The parent shows affection in rela- they are accustomed to from their
tion to the child. countries of origin. Problems occur
when children and young persons
3. Permissive pattern of foreign origin do not understand
the meaning of non-authoritarian
The parent exerts less control, does attitudes, e.g. in school and pre-
not demand obedience or compli- school education, but believe that
ance by the child with certain anything goes. Some parents also
norms. The child is left very much believe that Swedish schools are
to decide for itself and the parent completely lacking in order and
avoids confrontation. discipline.
4. Indifferent pattern Differences in the view taken of
The child is to a great extent aban- child education can cause certain
doned and left more or less to its parents to feel powerless. The me-
own educational devices. The pa- thods that worked at home do not
rent gives priority to his or her own work in Sweden. The collectivist
needs rather than to the childs and system, with its heavy pressure on
does not assume his/her parental the individual to adapt to the fami-
responsibility. ly, its norms and values, is eroded by
Swedish society. This threatens the
The permissive pattern was com- very foundations of child rearing.
mon in Sweden during the 70s. Research psychologist Anders Bro-
Free upbringing was a reaction berg writes as follows concerning
against the oppression which many the consequences of migration for
children had experienced during parenthood:
the first half of the 20th century
and against the belief in authority Successful parenthood de-
which had such disastrous conse- pends on the adults being rooted
quences during the Second World in a fabric of values, customs
War. Today the authoritative pat- and habits which support their
Ending Corporal Punishment 19parental authority and on how tion 11. 200 families with children
secure they feel in their parental between the ages of one and six
role. A good parent is differently were included in the survey, which
defined in every culture, and revealed a wide variety of methods
migration can threaten the par- used by parents to make children
ental role if the prerequisites for obey them. Sharp admonitions,
the maintenance of parental physically preventing the child
authority are removed in the from doing something and redefi-
new culture.. 10 ning the situation or problem were
the most common methods. Up-
In many cultures, the right to use bringing is excercised more by ver-
corporal punishment is a part of bal than physical methods. Use of
parental authority, but in Sweden threats or corporal punishment was
that authority has to be maintained the least common expedient. The
by other means. As a result, many researcher came to the general con-
parents of foreign origin feel that clusion that parents who respect
they lack the necessary equipment the ban on corporal punishment
for child rearing. They ask themsel- have not abdicated from their par-
ves what they are to do instead of ental authority but exercise discipli-
hitting their children. ne and control by other means.
There are answers to this question,
but they are not that simple. The
use of corporal punishment is not Attitudes to
primarily a question of methods of
upbringing but is more concerned
with the relationship between pa-
corporal
rents and children, with respecting
the child as an individual and with punishment
the aims of upbringing. Having a
collectivistic aim in a society where
an individualistic view of human
in various
nature predominates is liable to
lead to confusion, insecurity and
countries
perpetual confrontations with the
Sweden is taking part in a research
community at large on the part of
project, Patterns of Child Educa-
both parents and children. This is a
tion in Various Countries, in which
highly complex problem, because
comparisons are being made bet-
fundamentally it is concerned with
ween attitudes to corporal punish-
the formation of identity and the
experience of ones own ego and its
limits. The view of child rearing has
profound historical and cultural
roots which it takes a long time to 10. Broberg, Anders: Child rearing in
change. Time and Space. (Barnuppfostran i tid
och rum.) Norges Barnevern nr 3-4 2000
One Swedish study investigated
11. Palmérus Kerstin: Self-reported
different methods of child educa- Discipline among Swedish Parents of
Preschool Children. Infant and Child
Development. No. 8/1999
20 Ending Corporal Punishmentment in various countries. [Fotnot: ted corporal punishment to lead to
Anders Broberg, Department of greater obedience, more respect for
Psychology, University of Gothen- the parent or to the child learning
burg, is responsible for the Swedish acceptable behaviour. Instead near-
input]. The following are three of ly half of the Canadian mothers and
the studies which are included in 65% of the Swedish mothers belie-
the project. ved that corporal punishment had
the effect of making the child more
The first concerns maternal views aggressive. 75% of the Canadian
on corporal punishment in Sweden, mothers and 85% of the Swedish
where corporal punishment is dis- mothers believed that the use of
approved of, and in Canada, where corporal punishment made parents
it is a legal and culturally sanctio- feel guilty and remorseful.
ned method of upbringing 12.
102 Swedish and 107 Canadian One interesting difference between
mothers of children aged between the two groups was that Swedish
three and six years took part in the mothers considered corporal pu-
survey. nishment to be excusable or accep-
table if exercised when the parent
A minority of mothers in both was emotionally upset, while the
countries admitted that corporal Canadian mothers tended more to
punishment was a normal element regard corporal punishment as ac-
of their parenting (17% of the ceptable if the punishing parent
Canadians and 5% of the Swedes). was calm and collected. From this
Most mothers in both countries we may conclude that corporal
disapproved of corporal punish- punishment is not a part of Swedish
ment, the Swedish mothers most of mothers strategy of upbringing. If
all, 80% of them considered corpo- corporal punishment does occur it
ral punishment unnecessary and is due to the parent being frustrated
harmful, and nearly 90% regarded it and losing control.
as an ineffective method in the
upbringing of children. A minority In another study 13 the same group
of mothers in both countries expec- of researchers inquired whether the
use of corporal punishment was
predictable from certain maternal
characteristics. This study also took
place in both Sweden and Canada.
The researchers began with four
12. Durrant, Rose-Krasnor, Broberg: factors:
Maternal Beliefs about Physical Punish-
ment in Sweden and Canada. Journal of
Comparative Family Studies. In press. Attitudes. The results show, not
very surprisingly, that the more
13. Durrant, J.E., Broberg, A.G. & parents approve of corporal
Rose-Krasnor, L.: Predicting use of physi- punishment, the more often
cal punishment during mother-child con- they use it. Parents views of
flicts in Sweden and Canada. In C.C.
Piotrowski & P.D. Hastings, Eds 1999,
their childrens behaviour are
Conflict as a context for understanding also found to be important. If
maternal beliefs about child-rearing and parents regard disobedience and
childrens misbehavior. New Directions for
Child and Adolescent Development, No.
86 Ending Corporal Punishment 21bad behaviour as intentional and planations and excuses for the child
as a major problem, they are being awkward. Mothers in the
more liable to punish their other countries found their children
children physically. disobedient more often than Swe-
dish mothers did and considered
State of mind. Mothers who are their disobedience to be deliberate
not in good mental condition and serious. It therefore had to be
and feel irritated and depressed corrected. The disobedient child
hit their children more than must be managed. As Swedish
women who are in better men- mothers were patient and did not
tal shape. feel their children were disobedient
very often, they did not see any
Violence in the past. Parents need for authoritarian methods of
who were themselves hit during upbringing.
childhood hit their own children
more often than other parents. The study indicates the existence of
a connection between corporal
Cultural norms. If the norms punishment and our perception of
and legislation of society sup- children. If children are regarded as
port the use of corporal punish- troublesome, deliberately bad and
ment, it will be used more fre- disobedient, this augments the risk
quently than otherwise. of parents resorting to corporal
punishment as a means of correc-
tion.
On the basis of these four factors,
the researchers were able to predict
corporal punishment by 87 per cent
of the Canadian mothers but not by
any of the Swedish mothers, due The UN
partly to corporal punishment be-
ing very infrequent in the Swedish
material. One possible interpreta-
Convention on
tion is that corporal punishment,
when it occurs among Swedish-
the Rights of
born parents it is related to difficul-
ties in the parental role while, in the Child
Canada corporal punishment is a
common ingredient in child rearing. Although only a few countries have
an explicit regulation against corpo-
A third survey 14 covered Sweden, ral punishment, all but two (the
Canada, Iran and the Cook Islands USA and Somalia) have ratified the
in the Pacific. One interesting diffe- UN Convention on the Rights of
rence emerging from this study
concerned the perception of
childrens naughtiness. Swedish
mothers took their childrens diso-
bedience less seriously than mot- 14. Broberg, Anders: Corporal punish-
ment and other child rearing methods : a
hers in the other countries. Swedish cross-cultural perspective. (Aga och andra
mothers generally tried to find ex- uppfostringsmetoder: ett tvärkulturellt
perspektiv.)Föredrag vid Nordiska Barna-
vårdskongressen 1997 )
22 Ending Corporal Punishmentthe Child, Article 19 where article
19 states: Concluding
States parties shall take all
appropriate legislative, adminis-
remarks
trative, social and educational Sweden was the first country in the
measures to protect the child world to outlaw corporal punish-
from all forms of corporal and ment, and various surveys have
mental violence shown this measure to be strongly
supported by the Swedish popula-
The UN Committee set up to mo- tion. In many countries, forces are
nitor compliance with the Conven- at work to change attitudes to cor-
tion has taken the provision of Ar- poral punishment and to introduce
ticle 19 to imply a prohibition of similar legislation, and so people are
corporal punishment. interested to know how Sweden
went about things. Why are attitu-
The Convention on the Rights of des to corporal punishment so ne-
the Child has done a great deal to gative in Sweden? Some explana-
change attitudes towards children. tions can be discerned:
More and more people regard it as
self-evident that children are entit- There is a tradition in Swe-
led to respect for their person and den of resolving conflicts by discus-
integrity. One of the basic ideas of sion and agreement. This applies,
the Convention is that children and for example, in working life.
adults have the same human digni-
ty. Among other things, children are A great deal of progress has
entitled to express their opinions been made with regard to the equa-
freely and to be listened to. Corpo- lity of women and men. Women
ral punishment of children is not in occupy a relatively strong position
correspondence with the values both at work and in the family. As a
permeating the Convention. An result, their way of rearing children,
authoritarian upbringing which which most often implies less
includes corporal punishment and authoritarian methods, has had a
degrading treatment is out of har- powerful impact. A stronger posi-
mony both with the article of the tion for women also means a
Convention on the protection of stronger position for children.
children from all forms of mental
and physical violence and with the Sweden is a relatively child-
articles concerning the best inte- centred society. Many people work
rests of the child and the right of professionally with children, with
the child to be listened to. the result that the community has a
large fund of knowledge concerning
childrens needs and development.
Great efforts are being made to
offer children the best possible for-
mative conditions, both within the
family and in the community at
large.
Ending Corporal Punishment 23 The legislation has been suc- nishment and other humiliating
cessfully modified to indicate that treatment of children.
questions of custody and access, for
example, shall be decided according If you arent allowed to hit your
to the best interests of the child. children, what are you to do in-
Many changes have also been stead? One Swedish study shows
aimed at strengthening the role of that parents have a whole arsenal of
fathers. Joint custody, for example, methods for bringing up their child-
is the general rule today, even if ren. 15 How different educational
parents are not married, and fathers methods are perceived by and
have been given more scope for affect the child depend much on
taking parental leave. Greater opp- the parent-child relationship the
ortunities for men to take care of researcher concludes. The relation-
very young children probably lead ship between parents and children,
to stronger emotional bonds bet- combined with the extent to which
ween fathers and their children, the child understands the parents
which in turn presumably leads to me-thods of upbringing as legitima-
less reliance on corporal punish- te, decide the childs social and
ment. personal development.16
The negative attitude to corporal Summing up, the essential thing is
punishment in Sweden, then, is not only to develop new methods
rooted in a variety of favourable of child rearing but also to trans-
historical and structural factors. Of form attitudes towards children and
course, not all the problems have the relationship between adults and
been solved. There are still children children. Above all, children have
in Sweden who are being maltrea- to be granted with a fundamental
ted and neglected. But we have human right the right of being
made a good deal of progress spared physical violence.
towards children being treated with
respect for their physical and men-
tal integrity and regarded as full
members of the community.
Modern Sweden makes strong de-
mands on the individual. It is a mat-
ter of community interest that
children should grow up into inde-
pendently minded, socially compe-
tent, mentally strong individuals
with powers of initiative. Such qua-
lities are not promoted by a form of 15 Palmérus Kerstin: Self-reported
Discipline among Swedish Parents of Pre-
upbringing which supresses and
school Children. Infant and Child Develop-
humiliates children. Thus, from ment. No. 8/1999
both a human and a societal per-
spective, there are good reasons for 16. Palmérus Kerstin: Patterns of Child
campaigning against corporal pu- Rearing among Swedish Parents.(Svenska
föräldrars uppfostringsmönster) Nordisk
Psykologi 49/1997
24 Ending Corporal PunishmentEnding Corporal Punishment 25
26 Ending Corporal Punishment
Ending Corporal Punishment 27
Ending Corporal Punishment
Swedish Experience of Efforts
to prevent All Forms of Violence
Against Children and the Results
International co-operation is important for the true realization of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Each country has something to
learn from experiences in other countries. The UN discussions on child
rights aim largely to facilitate such exchanges. As a contribution to the
preparations for the General Assembly Special Session on Children in
2001, the Swedish Government is publishing three small publications
outlining efforts made to implement the Convention, progress made and
difficulties encountered. They focus on areas which might be of particular
interest to an international audience and are written by independent
experts.
This publication on the Swedish efforts to put an end to all forms of
violence against children describes legal reforms and other measures to
put an end to corporal punishment in institutions but also in a family
context. It also outlines how attitudes towards children have changed as
a result.
The text is written by Barbro Hindberg, former expert at the National
Board of Health and Welfare. She now freelances in the field of child
abuse and neglect. Preface by Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg.
The other publications are about child impact assessments and
participation of children in decision-making. They can be ordered at
the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (Social Services Division),
SE-103 33 Stockholm, fax +46 8 10 36 33.
E-mail adress: registrator@social.ministry.se.
Article no. S 2001.015
CONVENTION ON
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
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