‘Ineffective and harmful’: new call for a ban on corporal punishment in England | World news

Physically punishing children increases behavioral difficulties and is not effective in improving their behavior, a new study suggests.

A review conducted by University College London (UCL) analyzed 20 years of research on the subject, examining 69 global studies.

Researchers have followed children over time and assessed data on corporal punishment, finding that around 250 million children worldwide are subjected to corporal punishment.

The study concluded that it does not improve behavior and may in fact make things worse.

“Physical punishment is ineffective and harmful, and has no benefit for children and their families. This could not be clearer from the evidence we present,” said lead author Dr Anja Heilmann of the department. epidemiology of UCL.

“We see a definitive link between corporal punishment and behavioral problems such as aggression and antisocial behavior.

“Even more disturbing are the findings that children who experience corporal punishment are at increased risk of being subjected to more severe levels of violence. “

The authors have called for the practice to be made illegal in England, Northern Ireland and all other countries – only 62 countries in the world, including Scotland and Wales, have banned corporal punishment.

Scotland became the first part of the UK to ban spanking in November 2020 and Wales followed suit shortly thereafter.

The results suggest that the link between corporal punishment and increased behavior problems is causal, but none of the results show a reduction in problematic behaviors in children who have experienced corporal punishment.

Looking at the data over time, no improvements were found in children’s attention, cognitive abilities, or social skills in children who were physically punished.

Former Irish Member of Parliament and co-author of the article, Jillian van Turnhout, said: “This review has documented compelling evidence that hitting children does not work, …