Joan E. Durrant

Evaluating the success of Sweden's corporal punishment ban.

OBJECTIVE In 1979, Sweden became the first nation to explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children by all caretakers in an effort to: (1) alter public attitudes toward this practice; (2) increase early identification of children at risk for abuse; and (3) promote earlier and more supportive intervention to families. The aim of this study was to examine trends over recent decades in these areas to assess the degree to which these goals have been met. METHOD Primary data were collected from official Swedish sources for the following variables: public support for corporal punishment, reporting of child physical assault, child abuse mortality, prosecution rates, and intervention by the social authorities. Lines of best fit were generated and Cox and Stuart tests for trend were conducted. RESULTS Public support for corporal punishment has declined, identification of children at risk has increased, child abuse mortality is rare, prosecution rates have remained steady, and social service intervention has become increasingly supportive and preventive. CONCLUSIONS The Swedish ban has been highly successful in accomplishing its goals.

Physical punishment of children: lessons from 20 years of research

See related editorial by Fletcher on page [1339][1] and at [www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.121070][2] Over the past two decades, we have seen an international shift in perspectives concerning the physical punishment of children. In 1990, research showing an association between physical

Physical punishment, culture, and rights: current issues for professionals.

Once considered a legitimate parenting tool, physical punishment is increasingly being redefined as a developmental risk factor by health professionals. Three forces that have contributed to this significant social change are the evolution of pediatric psychology, increasing understanding of the dynamics of parental violence, and growing recognition of children as rights bearers. However, despite the consistency of research findings demonstrating the risks of physical punishment, some practitioners still struggle with the question of whether physical punishment is an appropriate practice among some cultural or ethnic groups. This issue is explored through an analysis of studies examining cultural differences and similarities in physical punishment’s effects, as well as legal decisions made throughout the world. Despite practitioners’ awareness of the prevalence and impact of parental violence, some still struggle with deciding where to “draw the line” in advising parents about spanking. This issue is addressed through an examination of the role that physical punishment plays in child maltreatment. Finally, the human rights perspective on physical punishment is offered as a new lens through which practitioners may view physical punishment to clarify the fuzzy issues of cultural relativity and the punishment-abuse dichotomy.

Parenting and public policy: Contextualizing the Swedish corporal punishment ban

Abstract On 1 July 1979, a law went into effect in Sweden that outlawed all forms of physical punishment of children, including that administered by parents. While the history of this law has been fully described elsewhere, scant attention has been paid to the political and social contexts in which the law emerged and found public support. It is argued in the present paper that the abolition of corporal punishment in Sweden (1) took place within a broader context supporting the legal recognition of childrens rights, (2) reflects a collectivist cultural ideology, and (3) is one component of a social policy framework emphasizing prevention over intervention. Implications of the Swedish ban for legislative change in other countries are discussed.

TRENDS IN YOUTH CRIME AND WELL-BEING SINCE THE ABOLITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SWEDEN

Trends in the well-being of Swedish youth were examined to determine whether they have shown improvement or deterioration since the passage of the 1979 corporal punishment ban. Rates of youth involvement in crime, alcohol and drug use, rape, and suicide have decreased. Trends in rates of nonsexual assault are equivocal due to shifts in enforcement. Legal sanctioning of corporal punishment appears to be unnecessary to improve youth well-being.

Legal reform and attitudes toward physical punishment in Sweden

This chapter examines the normative and structural framework of the Charter, highlighting its unique strengths and weaknesses within the broader African human rights context. Like the Convention, the Charter is predicated on four cardinal principles which are meant to help with the interpretation of the Charter as a whole and thereby guide national programmes of implementation. The Convention and the Charter not only set out the rights of a child but also specify safeguards which state parties should provide for his or her welfare. It is shown that the Charter on the rights and welfare of the child is not just a list of rights; rather, it represents a different way of viewing children and the relations between children and the society. Keywords:African Charter; African human rights; Childrens Rights

Protection of Children from Physical Maltreatment in Canada: An Evaluation of the Supreme Court's Definition of Reasonable Force

In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada set out seven criteria to distinguish reasonable from abusive corrective force with children. We tested the validity of those criteria by mapping them onto a nationally representative data set of substantiated cases of physical abuse. The courts criteria defining reasonable force actually characterized the majority of cases of child physical maltreatment in Canada. These cases were more likely to be characterized by the use of spanking in the family than by each of the criteria set out by the Supreme Court. One in five cases was not characterized by any of the courts criteria, and virtually none were characterized by all of them. The findings provide stronger support for abolishing physical punishment than for legal attempts to narrow its definition.

Law reform, corporal punishment and child abuse: : The case of Sweden

Over the past 70 years, Sweden has implemented a series of proactive legal reforms aimed at eliminating the corporal punishment of children in homes, schools and institutions. The most recent of these reforms took place in 1979 when Sweden became the first nation to explicitly abolish corporal punishment. The primary purposes of the ban were to recognize and affirm childrens rights to security of the person and to inform the public and professionals that corporal punishment is neither socially acceptable nor legally defensible. It was expected that, over time, parents would demonstrate decreasing support for this practice and decreasing use of it. Ultimately, it was expected that the ban, and the legal reforms that led up to it, would contribute to lower levels of parental violence toward children. In the present article, evidence from a variety of sources is examined to assess trends in child physical abuse in Sweden over time. It is concluded that acts of violence against children have declined dramatically in Sweden over recent decades corporal punishment is infrequent, serious assaults are uncommon, and child abuse fatalities are extremely rare. Implications of legal reform for the well-being of children are discussed.

Physical punishment and the response of the Canadian child welfare system: implications for legislative reform

Currently, the Criminal Code of Canada provides a defence to assault for persons in authority who use physical punishment with children. This defence has been challenged in the Ontario courts on the grounds that it violates childrens constitutional rights. Some child welfare authorities fear that if the defence were repealed the child protection system would be flooded with reports of abuse. In the present study, the potential impact of a repeal on child welfare services was assessed through an examination of current child welfare responses to reports of physical punishment. Examination of a national sample of child maltreatment investigations revealed that physical punishment is one of the most common types of maltreatment investigated by the Canadian child welfare system and that services are being provided in these cases. These findings suggest that the Canadian child welfare system is already in a position to respond to changes in the Criminal Code. The effectiveness of its response would likely be increased by the repeal of the defence.

What predicts injury from physical punishment? A test of the typologies of violence hypothesis

OBJECTIVE This study examined the power of child, perpetrator, and socio-economic characteristics to predict injury in cases of reported child physical abuse. The study was designed to assess the validity of the assumption that physically injurious incidents of child physical abuse are qualitatively different from those that do not result in injury, that their generative factors are distinctive, and that the quality of caregiving in these two types of incidents is different. METHOD A weighted, nationally representative sample of 8,164 substantiated punishment abuse cases in Canada was used. Various models were constructed and evaluated through logistic regression. RESULTS Of six potential predictors - child age, perpetrator sex, child functioning, parent functioning, economic stress, and social stress - none predicted injury to the child. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that injurious and non-injurious physical abuse cannot be distinguished on the basis of the personal characteristics or circumstances of the child or perpetrator. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS A common criterion for child welfare intervention into cases of suspected physical abuse is injury or risk of injury. This criterion assumes that injurious and non-injurious assaults are qualitatively different phenomena, predicted by different risk factors. In the present study an attempt was made to differentiate between injurious and non-injurious cases of punitive physical abuse on the basis of characteristics of the child, perpetrator, family, and social context. None of these factors explained the likelihood of injury, suggesting that the prediction of injury as an intervention criterion may be questionable.