View source for Corporal punishment

{{Short description|Punishment intended to cause physical pain}}
{{Confuse|Capital punishment}}
{{About|the infliction of bodily pain as a form of punishment|other uses|Corporal punishment (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2011}}
{{Corporal punishment|I’m=}}

A '''corporal punishment''' or a '''physical punishment''' is a [[punishment]] which is intended to cause physical [[pain]] to a person. When it is inflicted on [[Minor (law)|minors]], especially in home and school settings, its methods may include [[spanking]] or [[Paddle (spanking)|paddling]]. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on [[prisoner]]s and [[slaves]], and can involve methods such as [[whipping]] with a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]] or a [[whip|horsewhip]].

Physical punishments for crimes or injuries, including [[flogging]]s, [[Human branding|branding]]s, and even [[mutilation]]s, were practised in most [[civilization]]s since ancient times. They have increasingly been viewed as inhumane since the development of [[humanitarianism]] ideals after the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], especially in the [[Western world]]. By the late 20th century, corporal punishment was eliminated from the [[legal system]]s of most [[developed countries]].<ref name="BritannicaCP">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/138384/corporal-punishment|title=Corporal punishment|date=9 November 2014|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

The legality of corporal punishment in various settings differs by jurisdiction. Internationally, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the application of [[human rights]] law to the question of corporal punishment in several contexts:
* ''[[Corporal punishment in the home]]'', the punishment of children by parents or other adult guardians, is legal in most of the world. As of 2023, 65 countries, mostly in [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]], have banned the practice.<ref name="Countries Prohib" />
* ''[[School corporal punishment]]'', of students by teachers or school administrators, such as [[caning]] or [[Paddle|paddling]], has been banned in many countries, including [[Canada]], [[Kenya]], [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]] and all of Europe. It remains legal, if increasingly less common, in some states of the [[United States]] and in some countries in [[Africa]] and [[Southeast Asia]].
* ''[[Judicial corporal punishment]]'', such as whipping or caning, as part of a [[criminal sentence]] ordered by a court of law, has long disappeared from most European countries.<ref name="globalpartnership">{{Cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/ |title=Progress |date=2021 |publisher=Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children}}</ref> As of 2021, it remains lawful in parts of Africa, Asia, the [[Anglophone Caribbean]] and indigenous communities in several countries of South America.<ref name="globalpartnership" />
* ''Prison corporal punishment'' or ''disciplinary corporal punishment'', ordered by prison authorities or carried out directly by correctional officers against the inmates for misconduct in custody, has long been a common practice in penal institutions worldwide. It has officially been banned in most Western civilizations during the 20th century, but is still employed in many other countries today. Punishments such as paddling, [[foot whipping]], or different forms of flagellation have been commonplace methods of corporal punishment within prisons. This was also common practice in the [[Australia]]n [[Flagellation#Australian penal colonies|penal colonies]] and prison camps of the [[Nazi regime]] in Germany.
* Military corporal punishment was once common. Only a few jurisdictions [[Flagellation#Flogging as military punishment|still allow it.]]

In many Western countries, medical and human rights organizations oppose the corporal punishment of children. [[Campaigns against corporal punishment]] have aimed to bring about legal reforms to ban the use of corporal punishment against minors in homes and schools.

==History==
===Prehistory===
Author [[Jared Diamond]] writes that [[hunter-gatherer]] societies have tended to use little corporal punishment, whereas agricultural and industrial societies tend to use progressively more of it. Diamond suggests this may be because hunter-gatherers tend to have few valuable physical possessions, and misbehavior of the child would not cause harm to others' property.<ref name="Diamond">{{cite book |last1=Diamond |first1=Jared |title=The World Until Yesterday |url=https://archive.org/details/worlduntilyester00diam_0 |url-access=registration |date=2013 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-1-101-60600-1 |at=Ch. 5}}</ref>

Researchers who have lived among the [[Parakanã]] and [[Ju/'hoansi]] people, as well as some [[Aboriginal Australians]], have written about the absence of the physical punishment of children in those cultures.<ref name="Gray">{{cite journal |last=Gray |first=Peter |date=2009 |title=Play as a Foundation for Hunter-Gatherer Social Existence |journal=American Journal of Play |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=476–522 |url=http://www.journalofplay.org/issues/1/4/article/play-foundation-hunter-gatherer-social-existence |access-date=1 October 2017 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414143551/https://www.journalofplay.org/issues/1/4/article/play-foundation-hunter-gatherer-social-existence |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wilson writes:

{{quote|Probably the only generalization that can be made about the use of physical punishment among primitive tribes is that there was no common procedure [...] Pettit concludes that among primitive societies corporal punishment is rare, not because of the innate kindliness of these people but because it is contrary to developing the type of individual personality they set up as their ideal [...] An important point to be made here is that we cannot state that physical punishment as a motivational or corrective device is 'innate' to man.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.1}}}}

===Antiquity===
[[File:Edward Frank Gillettː Stubbs has his hand cut off (Hutchinsons Story of the British Nation, 1922).jpg|thumb|''[[John Stubbs]] has his hand cut off'', England, 1579 ]]
[[File:Whipping of an incarcerated delinquent, Germany 17th century.jpg|thumb|Birching, Germany, 17th century]]
In the [[Western world]], the corporal punishment of children has traditionally been used by adults in authority roles.<ref>Rich, John M. (December 1989). [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30182058?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104806765033 "The Use of Corporal Punishment".] ''The Clearing House'', Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 149–152.</ref> Beating one's son as a form of punishment is even recommended in the [[book of Proverbs]]:

{{quote|He that spareth the rod, hateth his son; but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes. (Proverbs 13:24)

A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. (Proverbs 18:6)

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18)

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it from him. (Proverbs 22:15)

Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with a rod, thou shalt deliver his soul from hell. (Proverbs 23:13–14)|<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Wilson |first1=Robert M. |title=A Study of Attitudes Towards Corporal Punishment as an Educational Procedure From the Earliest Times to the Present |url= http://www.zona-pellucida.com/wilson01.html |publisher=University of Victoria |date=1971 |at=2.3 |oclc=15767752}}</ref>{{efn|It has been debated among scholars as to whether what is encouraged in the [[book of Proverbs]] is the corporal punishment of a "child" or a "young man". The word translated "child" in most cases in the Bible refers to a young man rather than a child.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leeb |first1=Carolyn |title=Away from the Father's House |date=2000 |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |location=Sheffield |isbn=1-84127-105-5}}</ref>}}}}

Robert McCole Wilson argues that, "Probably this attitude comes, at least in part, from the desire in the patriarchal society for the elder to maintain his authority, where that authority was the main agent for social stability. But these are the words that not only justified the use of physical punishment on children for over a thousand years in Christian communities, but also ordered it to be used. The words were accepted with but few exceptions; it is only in the last two hundred years that there has been a growing body of opinion that differed. Curiously, the gentleness of Christ towards children (Mark, X) was usually ignored".{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.3}}

[[File:Falaka-Iran.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Foot whipping]] an offender, Persia, 1910s]]

Corporal punishment was practised in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Ancient China|China]], [[Ancient Greece|Greece]], and [[Roman Empire|Rome]] to maintain judicial and educational discipline.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.3–2.6}} [[Disfigured]] Egyptian criminals were exiled to [[Tjaru]] and [[Rhinocorura]] on the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] border, a region whose name meant "[[rhinectomy|cut-off noses]]." Corporal punishment was prescribed in ancient Israel, but it was limited to 40 lashes.<ref>Deuteronomy 25:1-3</ref> In China, some criminals were also disfigured, but other criminals were tattooed. Some states gained a reputation for their cruel use of such punishments; [[Sparta]], in particular, used them as part of a disciplinary regime which was designed to increase willpower and physical strength.{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}} Although the Spartan example was extreme, corporal punishment was possibly the most frequent type of punishment. In the Roman Empire, the maximum penalty which a Roman citizen could receive under the law was 40 "lashes" or 40 "strokes" with a whip which was applied to the back and shoulders, or 40 lashes or strokes with the "''[[fasces]]''" (similar to a birch rod, but consisting of 8–10 lengths of willow rather than birch) which were applied to the buttocks. Such punishments could draw blood, and they were frequently inflicted in public.

[[Quintilian]] ({{circa|35}} – {{circa|100}}) voiced some opposition to the use of corporal punishment. According to Wilson, "probably no more lucid indictment of it has been made in the succeeding two thousand years".{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}}

{{quote|By that boys should suffer corporal punishment, though it is received by custom, and Chrysippus makes no objection to it, I by no means approve; first, because it is a disgrace, and a punishment fit for slaves, and in reality (as will be evident if you imagine the age change) an affront; secondly, because, if a boy's disposition be so abject as not to be amended by reproof, he will be hardened, like the worst of slaves, even to stripes; and lastly, because, if one who regularly exacts his tasks be with him, there will not be the need of any [[chastisement]] (Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory, 1856 edition, I, III).{{sfnp|Wilson|1971|loc=2.5}}}}

[[Plutarch]], also in the first century, writes:

{{quote|This also I assert, that children ought to be led to honourable practices by means of encouragement and reasoning, and most certainly not by blows or ill-treatment, for it surely is agreed that these are fitting rather for slaves than for the free-born; for so they grow numb and shudder at their tasks, partly from the pain of the blows, partly from the degradation.<ref>{{citation |author=Plutarch |url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/plutarch-moralia_education_children/1927/pb_LCL197.41.xml |title=Moralia. The Education of Children |publisher=Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press, 1927.}}</ref>}}

===Middle Ages===
In [[Medieval Europe]], the [[Byzantine Empire]] [[Blinding (punishment)|blinded]] and [[Rhinectomy|removed the noses]] of some criminals and rival emperors. Their belief that the emperor should be physically ideal meant that such disfigurement notionally disqualified the recipient from office. (The second reign of [[Justinian II|Justinian the Slit-nosed]] was the notable exception.) Elsewhere, corporal punishment was encouraged by the attitudes of the [[History of the Catholic Church|Catholic church]] towards the human body, [[flagellation]] being a common means of self-discipline. This influenced the use of corporal punishment in schools, as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. Nevertheless, corporal punishment was not used uncritically; as early as the 11th century [[Saint Anselm]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] was speaking out against what he saw as the excessive use of corporal punishment in the treatment of children.<ref>Wicksteed, Joseph H. ''The Challenge of Childhood: An Essay on Nature and Education'', Chapman & Hall, London, 1936, pp. 34–35. {{OCLC|3085780}}</ref>

===Modernity===
From the 16th century onwards, new trends were seen in corporal punishment. Judicial punishments were increasingly turned into public spectacles, with public beatings of criminals intended as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. Meanwhile, early writers on education, such as [[Roger Ascham]], complained of the arbitrary manner in which children were punished.<ref>Ascham, Roger. ''The scholemaster'', John Daye, London, 1571, p. 1. Republished by Constable, London, 1927. {{OCLC|10463182}}</ref>

Peter Newell writes that perhaps the most influential writer on the subject was the English philosopher [[John Locke]], whose ''[[Some Thoughts Concerning Education]]'' explicitly criticised the central role of corporal punishment in education. Locke's work was highly influential and may have helped influence Polish legislators to ban corporal punishment from Poland's schools in 1783, the first country in the world to do so.<ref>Newell, Peter (ed.). ''A Last Resort? Corporal Punishment in Schools'', Penguin, London, 1972, p. 9 {{ISBN|0140806989}}</ref>
[[File:Women&#039;s prison punishment (early modern era).jpg|thumb|Corporal punishment in a women's prison in the United States (ca. 1890)]]
[[File:Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, Supplice des batogues (c. 1765–1766).png|thumb|right|210px|[[Batog]], corporal punishment in the Russian Empire]]
[[File:Husaga (teckning av Fritz von Dardel).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Husaga (the right of the master of the household to corporally punish his servants) was outlawed in [[Sweden]] for adults in 1858.]]
A consequence of this mode of thinking was a reduction in the use of corporal punishment in the 19th century in Europe and North America. In some countries, this was encouraged by scandals involving individuals seriously hurt during acts of corporal punishment. For instance, in Britain, popular opposition to punishment was encouraged by two significant cases, the death of [[Death of Frederick John White|Private Frederick John White]], who died after a military [[flogging]] in 1846,<ref>Barretts, C.R.B. [http://www.thequeensownhussars.co.uk/fjwhite.htm ''The History of The 7th Queen's Own Hussars Vol. II''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003161113/http://www.thequeensownhussars.co.uk/fjwhite.htm |date=3 October 2011 }}.</ref> and the [[Eastbourne manslaughter|death of Reginald Cancellor]], killed by his schoolmaster in 1860.<ref>Middleton, Jacob (2005). "Thomas Hopley and mid-Victorian attitudes to corporal punishment". ''History of Education''.</ref> Events such as these mobilised public opinion and, by the late nineteenth century, the extent of corporal punishment's use in state schools was unpopular with many parents in England.<ref name="historytoday">Middleton, Jacob (November 2012). [http://www.historytoday.com/jacob-middleton/spare-rod "Spare the Rod"]. ''History Today'' (London).</ref> Authorities in Britain and some other countries introduced more detailed rules for the infliction of corporal punishment in government institutions such as schools, prisons, and reformatories. By the First World War, parents' complaints about disciplinary excesses in England had died down, and corporal punishment was established as an expected form of school discipline.<ref name="historytoday"/>

In the 1870s, courts in the United States overruled the common-law principle that a husband had the right to "physically chastise an errant wife".<ref>Calvert, R. "Criminal and civil liability in husband-wife assaults", in ''Violence in the family'' (Suzanne K. Steinmetz and Murray A. Straus, eds.), Harper & Row, New York, 1974. {{ISBN|0-396-06864-2}}</ref> In the UK, the traditional right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife to keep her "within the bounds of duty" was similarly removed in 1891.<ref>[http://www.lawteacher.net/family-law-resources/domestic-violence.php ''R. v Jackson''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907012332/http://www.lawteacher.net/family-law-resources/domestic-violence.php |date=7 September 2014 }}, [1891] 1 QB 671, abstracted at LawTeacher.net.</ref><ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Corporal Punishment |volume=7 |pages=189–190}}</ref> See [[Domestic violence]] for more information.

In the United Kingdom, the use of judicial corporal punishment declined during the first half of the twentieth century and it was abolished altogether in the [[Criminal Justice Act 1948|Criminal Justice Act, 1948 (zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58.)]], whereby whipping and flogging were outlawed except for use in very serious internal prison discipline cases,<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1948/58%20/pdfs/ukpga_19480058_en.pdf Criminal Justice Act, 1948] zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58., pp. 54–55.</ref> while most other European countries had abolished it earlier. Meanwhile, in many schools, the use of the cane, paddle or [[tawse]] remained commonplace in the UK and the United States until the 1980s. In rural areas of the Southern United States, and in several other countries, it still is: see [[School corporal punishment]].

== International treaties ==
===Human rights===
Key developments related to corporal punishment occurred in the late 20th century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment are emphasised.
* 1950: [[European Convention on Human Rights]], [[Council of Europe]].<ref>This applies to the 47 members of the Council of Europe, an entirely separate body from the European Union, which has only 28 member states.</ref> Article 3 bans "[[inhuman or degrading treatment]] or punishment".
** '''1978''': [[European Court of Human Rights]], overseeing its implementation, rules that judicial birching of a juvenile breaches Article 3.<ref>[http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children] (2012). Retrieved 1 May 2012. "Key Judgements." The ruling concerned the Isle of Man, a UK Crown Dependency.</ref>
* 1985: [[Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice]], or Beijing Rules, [[United Nations]] ([[UN]]). Rule 17.3: "Juveniles shall not be subject to corporal punishment."
** '''1990''' Supplement: ''Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty''. Rule 67: "...all disciplinary measures constituting cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment shall be strictly prohibited, including corporal punishment..."
* '''1990''': ''Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency'', the Riyadh Guidelines, UN. Paragraph 21(h): education systems should avoid "harsh disciplinary measures, particularly corporal punishment."
* 1966: [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], UN, with currently 167 parties, 74 signatories.<ref>UN (2012) "4 . [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901184638/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en |date=1 September 2010 }}," United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 7: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment..."
** '''1992''': [[Human Rights Committee]], overseeing its implementation, comments: "the prohibition must extend to corporal punishment . . . in this regard . . . article 7 protects, in particular, children, . . .."<ref>UN Human Rights Committee (1992) [http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom20.htm "General Comment No. 20".] HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4.: p. 108</ref>
* 1984: [[Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment]], UN, with currently 150 parties and 78 signatories.<ref>UN (2012) "9 . [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&lang=en Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108052518/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&lang=en |date=8 November 2010 }}. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
** '''1996''': [[United Nations Convention against Torture#Committee against Torture|Committee Against Torture]], overseeing its implementation, condemns corporal punishment.<ref>UN (1996) General Assembly Official Records, Fiftieth Session, A/50/44, 1995: par. 177, and A/51/44, 1996: par. 65(i).</ref>
* 1966: [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], UN, with currently 160 parties, and 70 signatories.<ref>UN (2012). 3. [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917040858/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en |date=17 September 2012 }} United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 13(1): "education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity..."
** '''1999''': [[Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], overseeing its implementation, comments: "corporal punishment is inconsistent with the fundamental guiding principle of international human rights law . . . the dignity of the individual."<ref>UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999) "General Comment on 'The Right to Education'," HRI/GEN/1/Rev.4: 73.</ref>
* 1961: [[European Social Charter]], Council of Europe.
** '''2001''': [[European Committee of Social Rights]], overseeing its implementation, concludes: it is not "acceptable that a society which prohibits any form of physical violence between adults would accept that adults subject children to physical violence."<ref>European Committee of Social Rights 2001. "Conclusions XV – 2," Vol. 1.</ref>

===Children's rights===
{{Youth rights sidebar}}
The notion of [[children's rights]] in the [[Western world]] developed in the 20th century, but the issue of corporal punishment was not generally addressed before mid-century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment of children are emphasised.
* 1923: ''Children's Rights Proclamation'' by [[Save the Children]] founder. (5 articles).
** 1924 Adopted as the ''World Child Welfare Charter'', [[League of Nations]] (non-enforceable).
* 1959: [[Declaration of the Rights of the Child]], ([[UN]]) (10 articles; non-binding).
* 1989: [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]], UN (54 articles; binding treaty), with currently 193 parties and 140 signatories.<ref>UN (2012). 11. [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en Convention on the Rights of the Child] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211151110/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en |date=11 February 2014 }}. United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref> Article 19.1: "States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation . . . ."
** '''2006''': [[Committee on the Rights of the Child]], overseeing its implementation, comments: there is an "obligation of all States Party to move quickly to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment."<ref>UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) "General Comment No. 8:" par. 3. However, Article 19 of the Convention does not refer to corporal punishment, and the Committee's interpretation on this point has been explicitly rejected by several States Party to the Convention, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.</ref>
** 2011: [[Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure|Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure]] allowing individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights.<ref>UN OHCHR (2012). [http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/index.htm Committee on the Rights of the Child]. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
* 2006: Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General to the UN General Assembly.<ref>UN (2006) "Study on Violence against Children presented by Independent Expert for the Secretary-General". United Nations, A/61/299. See further: UN (2012e). [http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308135228/http://www.srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/ |date=8 March 2022 }}. Retrieved 1 May 2012.</ref>
* 2007: Post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children established.<ref>UN (2007) United Nations General Assembly, A/RES/62/141. The United States was the only country to vote against. There were no abstentions.</ref>

== Modern use ==
{{Main|School corporal punishment| Judicial corporal punishment|Corporal punishment in the home}}
[[File:Corporal punishment by countries and districts.svg|thumb|Laws on corporal punishment for minors{{legend|green|Illegal altogether}}{{legend|yellow|Legal in homes}}{{legend|ffbf00|Legal in homes and private schools}}{{legend|#F26500|Legal in homes and schools (public and private)}}{{legend|#D10024|Legal in homes, schools, and judicially}}]]
{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 200
| image1            = School corporal punishment USA map.svg
| caption1          = [[School corporal punishment in the United States]]<br>
[[Corporal punishment of minors in the United States]]<br>
<!--{{legend|#09c70d|Corporal punishment prohibited in schools and the home}}-->{{legend|#0000ff|Corporal punishment prohibited in public schools}} {{legend|#ff0000|Corporal punishment not prohibited in public schools}}
| image2            = Corporal punishment in Europe.svg
| caption2          = Legality of corporal punishment of minors in Europe
----
{{legend|#09c70d|Corporal punishment banned altogether}}
{{legend|#0000d8|Corporal punishment banned in schools only}}
{{legend|#c70909|Corporal punishment not prohibited in schools or in the home}}
}}

===Legal status===
{{see also|Child corporal punishment laws}}

67 countries, most of them in [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]], have prohibited any corporal punishment of children.

The earliest recorded attempt to prohibit corporal punishment of children by a state dates back to [[Poland]] in 1783.<ref name="Abolishing">{{cite book |title=Abolishing corporal punishment of children: questions and answers |date=2007 |publisher=Council of Europe |location=Strasbourg |isbn=978-9-287-16310-3 |url= http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/corporalpunishment/pdf/EnglishQuestionAnswer_en.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140809054408/http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/corporalpunishment/pdf/EnglishQuestionAnswer_en.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>{{rp|31–2}} However, its prohibition in all spheres of life – in homes, schools, the penal system and alternative care settings – occurred first in 1966 in Sweden. The 1979 Swedish Parental Code reads: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment."<ref name="Abolishing"/>{{rp|32}}

{{as of|2021}}, corporal punishment of children by parents (or other adults) is outlawed altogether in 63 nations (including the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo) and 3 constituent nations.<ref name="Countries Prohib">{{Cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/ |title=States which have prohibited all corporal punishment |publisher=Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children |website=www.endcorporalpunishment.org|date=29 January 2018 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Countries that have completely prohibited corporal punishment of children:<ref name="Countries Prohib"/>
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Year
|-
|{{SWE}} || 1979
|-
|{{FIN}} || 1983
|-
|{{NOR}} || 1987
|-
|{{AUT}} || 1989
|-
|{{CYP}} || 1994
|-
|{{DEN}} || 1997
|-
|{{POL}} || 1997
|-
|{{flag|Latvia}} || 1998
|-
|{{GER}} || 1998
|-
|{{CRO}} || 1999
|-
|{{flag|Bulgaria}} || 2000
|-
|{{ISR}} || 2000
|-
|{{flag|Turkmenistan}} || 2002
|-
|{{flag|Iceland}} || 2003
|-
|{{flag|Ukraine}} || 2004
|-
|{{ROM}} || 2004
|-
|{{HUN}} || 2005
|-
|{{flag|Greece}} || 2006
|-
|{{flag|New Zealand}} || 2007
|-
|{{NED}} || 2007
|-
|{{POR}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Uruguay}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Venezuela}} || 2007
|-
|{{ESP}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Togo}} || 2007
|-
|{{flag|Costa Rica}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Moldova}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Luxembourg}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Liechtenstein}} || 2008
|-
|{{flag|Tunisia}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Kenya}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Congo, Republic of}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|Albania}} || 2010
|-
|{{flag|South Sudan}} || 2011
|-
|{{flag|North Macedonia}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Cabo Verde}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Honduras}} || 2013
|-
|{{flag|Malta}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Brazil}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Bolivia}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Argentina}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|San Marino}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Nicaragua}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Estonia}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Andorra}} || 2014
|-
|{{flag|Benin}} || 2015
|-
|{{IRL}} || 2015
|-
|{{flag|Peru}} || 2015
|-
|{{flag|Mongolia}} || 2016
|-
|{{MNE}} || 2016
|-
|{{flag|Paraguay}} || 2016
|-
|''{{flag|Aruba}}'' || 2016<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/news/10/2017/aruba-has-prohibited-all-corporal-punishment-of-children.html |title=Aruba has prohibited all corporal punishment of children - Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children |access-date=6 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306202923/http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/news/10/2017/aruba-has-prohibited-all-corporal-punishment-of-children.html |archive-date=6 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Slovenia}} || 2016
|-
|{{flag|Lithuania}} || 2017
|-
|{{flag|Nepal}} || 2018
|-
|{{flag|Kosovo}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|France}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|South Africa}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|Jersey}} || 2019
|-
|{{flag|Georgia}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Japan}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Seychelles}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Scotland}} || 2020
|-
|{{flag|Guinea}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|Colombia}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|South Korea}} || 2021
|-
|{{flag|Wales}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Zambia}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Cuba}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Mauritius}} || 2022
|-
|{{flag|Laos}} || 2024<ref>{{cite press release |url= https://www.unicef.org/laos/press-releases/lao-pdr-historic-ban-corporal-punishment |date=30 April 2024 |title=Lao PDR on Historic Ban of Corporal Punishment |publisher=Unicef |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Tajikistan}} || 2024<ref>{{cite web |url= https://endcorporalpunishment.org/tajikistanprohibitsallcorporalpunishment/ |date=28 August 2024 |title=Tajikistan prohibits all corporal punishment of children |publisher= End Corporal Punishment |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Thailand}} || 2025<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40047876 |date=26 March 2025
|title= UNICEF hails Thailand's ban on corporal punishment for kids |work=The Nation |location= Bangkok |access-date=30 March 2025}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Czech Republic}} || 2025
|-
|{{flag|Switzerland}} || 2025
|}

For a more detailed overview of the global use and prohibition of the corporal punishment of children, see the following table.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 600px;"
|+ ''Summary of the number of countries prohibiting corporal punishment of children''<ref name="Countries Prohib"/>
|-
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | '''Home'''
| rowspan="2" | '''Schools'''
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | '''Penal system'''
| rowspan="2" | '''Alternative care settings'''
|-
| '''As sentence for crime'''
| '''As disciplinary measure'''
|-
| '''Prohibited'''
| 67
| 130
| 156
| 117
| 39
|-
| '''Not prohibited'''
| 131
| 68
| 41
| 77
| 159
|-
| '''Legality unknown''' || – || – || 1 || 4 || –
|}

===Corporal punishment in the home===
{{Main|Corporal punishment in the home}}
[[File:Ending physical punishment in Wales - English version.webm|thumb|An overview of the [[Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020|Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment Act 2020]], which ends the physical punishment of children everywhere in Wales, including the home]]
Domestic corporal punishment (i.e. the punishment of children by their parents) is often referred to colloquially as "[[spanking]]", "smacking", or "slapping".

It has been outlawed in an increasing number of countries, starting with Sweden in 1979.<ref name="Durrant 1996">{{cite book |last=Durrant |first=Joan E. |editor1=Frehsee, Detlev  |display-editors=etal|title=Family Violence Against Children: A Challenge for Society |date=1996 |location=Berlin |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-014996-6 |pages=19–25 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8IyJkWAAXjkC&q=%22swedish+ban+on+corporal+punishment%22 |chapter=The Swedish Ban on Corporal Punishment: Its History and Effects}}</ref><ref name="Countries Prohib" /> In some other countries, corporal punishment is legal, but restricted (e.g. blows to the head are outlawed, implements may not be used, only children within a certain age range may be spanked).

In all states of the United States and most African and Asian nations, corporal punishment by parents is legal. It is also legal to use certain implements (e.g. a belt or a paddle).

In Canada, spanking by parents or legal guardians (but nobody else) is legal, with certain restrictions: the child must be between the ages of 2–12, and no implement other than an open, bare hand may be used (belts, paddles, etc. are prohibited). It is also illegal to strike the head when disciplining a child.<ref>{{cite web |title=To spank or not to spank? |url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/to-spank-or-not-to-spank-1.795385 |publisher=CBC News |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=17 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Barnett |first=Laura |title=The "Spanking" Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code |url= http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0510-e.htm |publisher=Parliament of Canada |access-date=17 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121016094817/http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0510-e.htm |archive-date=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the UK (except Scotland and Wales), spanking or smacking is legal, but it must not cause an injury amounting to actual bodily harm (any injury such as visible bruising, breaking of the whole skin, etc.). In addition, in Scotland, since October 2003, it has been illegal to use any implements or to strike the head when disciplining a child, and it is also prohibited to use corporal punishment towards children under the age of 3 years. In 2019, Scotland enacted a ban on corporal punishment, which went into effect in 2020. Wales also enacted a ban in 2020, which went into effect in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 March 2022 |title=Wales introduces ban on smacking and slapping children |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/21/wales-introduces-ban-on-smacking-and-slapping-children |access-date=21 March 2022 |website=The Guardian |location= London}}</ref>

In Pakistan, Section 89 of Pakistan Penal Code allows corporal punishment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wajeeh |first1=Ul Hassan |title=Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) |url= http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/1860/actXLVof1860.html |access-date=8 February 2017 }}</ref>

In 2024, children's doctors urged ministers to ban smacking children in England and Northern Ireland as their report warned that children suffer physically and mentally after being hit in their home. However, the UK government stated there were no plans to change the law on smacking in England and said it would observe the impact of legal amendments in Scotland and Wales.<ref>{{cite news |last=Roxby |first=Philippa |title=Protect children from smacking in England and Northern Ireland, say doctors |date=16 April 2024 |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/health-68827782 |website=BBC News |access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>

===Corporal punishment in schools===
{{Main|School corporal punishment}}
Corporal punishment in schools has been outlawed in many countries. It often involves striking the student on the buttocks or the palm of the hand with an implement (e.g. a [[Caning|rattan cane]] or a [[spanking paddle]]).

In countries where corporal punishment is still allowed in schools, there may be restrictions; for example, school caning in Singapore and Malaysia is, in theory, permitted for boys only.

In India and many other countries, corporal punishment has technically been abolished by law. However, corporal punishment continues to be practised on boys and girls in many schools around the world. Cultural perceptions of corporal punishment have rarely been studied and researched. One study carried out discusses how corporal punishment is perceived among parents and students in India.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ghosh |first1=Arijit |last2=Pasupathi |first2=Madhumathi |date=18 August 2016 |title= Perceptions of Students and Parents on the Use of Corporal Punishment at Schools in India |url= http://rupkatha.com/V8/n3/28_Corporal_Punishment_Schools.pdf |journal=Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=269–280 |doi=10.21659/rupkatha.v8n3.28|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Medical professionals have urged putting an end to the practice, noting the danger of injury to children's hands especially.<ref>[http://www.nospank.net/hands.htm "Corporal Punishment to Children's Hands"],
A Statement by Medical Authorities as to the Risks, January 2002.</ref>

===Judicial punishment===
{{main|Judicial corporal punishment}}
[[File:Map of judicial corporal punishment.svg|thumb|{{legend|#ca2c92|Countries with judicial corporal punishment}}]]
[[File:Taliban beating woman in public RAWA.jpg|right|thumb|A member of the Taliban's [[Mutaween#Other groups|religious police]] beating an Afghan woman in [[Kabul]] on 26 August 2001]]
Around 33 countries in the world still retain judicial corporal punishment, including a number of former British territories such as Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore and Tanzania. In Singapore, for certain specified offences, males are routinely sentenced to [[Caning in Singapore|caning]] in addition to a prison term. The Singaporean practice of caning became much discussed around the world in 1994 when American teenager [[Michael P. Fay]] received four strokes of the cane for vandalism. Judicial caning and whipping are also used in [[Aceh Province]] in Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKirdy |first1=Euan |title=Gay men, adulterers publicly flogged in Aceh, Indonesia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/14/asia/indonesia-banda-aceh-public-flogging-intl/index.html |access-date=15 July 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=14 July 2018}}</ref>

A number of other countries with an Islamic legal system, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran, Brunei, Sudan, and some northern states in Nigeria, employ judicial whipping for a range of offences. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court ended the flogging punishment from its court system, and replaced it with jail time or fines.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425000301/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-rights-flogging-idUKKCN2262UX|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2020|title=Saudi Arabia to end flogging as form of punishment - document|date=24 April 2020|work=Reuters|access-date=25 April 2020|language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2009}}, some regions of Pakistan are experiencing a breakdown of law and government, leading to a reintroduction of corporal punishment by ''ad hoc'' Islamist courts.<ref>Walsh, Declan. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/02/taliban-pakistan-justice-women-flogging "Video of girl's flogging as Taliban hand out justice"], ''The Guardian'', London, 2 April 2009.</ref> As well as corporal punishment, some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran use other kinds of [[Physical punishment|physical penalties]] such as [[amputation]] or [[mutilation]].<ref>Campaign against the Arms Trade, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmfaff/145/145we10.htm Evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs], London, January 2005.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03mon2.html?_r=1 "Lashing Justice"], Editorial, ''The New York Times'', 3 December 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/12/08/saudi-arabia-court-orders-eye-be-gouged-out "Saudi Arabia: Court Orders Eye to Be Gouged Out"], Human Rights Watch, 8 December 2005.</ref> However, the term "corporal punishment" has since the 19th century usually meant [[caning]], [[flagellation]] or bastinado rather than those other types of physical penalty.<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], 2nd edition, 1989, "corporal punishment: punishment inflicted on the body; originally including death, mutilation, branding, bodily confinement, irons, the pillory, etc. (as opposed to a fine or punishment in estate or rank). In 19th c. usually confined to flogging or similar infliction of bodily pain."</ref><ref>"Physical punishment such as caning or flogging" – Concise Oxford Dictionary.</ref><ref>"... inflicted on the body, esp. by beating." – Oxford American Dictionary of Current English.</ref><ref name="arnoldbaker">"mostly a euphemism for the enforcement of discipline by applying canes, whips or birches to the buttocks." – Charles Arnold-Baker, ''The Companion to British History'', Routledge, 2001.</ref><ref>"Physical punishment such as beating or caning" – Chambers 21st Century Dictionary.</ref><ref>"Punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating." – Collins English Dictionary.</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861688382/corporal_punishment.html "the striking of somebody's body as punishment"] – Encarta World English Dictionary, MSN. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090901160044/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861688382/corporal_punishment.html Archived] 31 October 2009.</ref>

In some countries, [[foot whipping]] (''bastinado'') is still practised on prisoners.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2014/08/confirming-torture-use-imaging-victims-falanga |title=Confirming Torture: The Use of Imaging in Victims of Falanga |date=6 August 2014 |work=Forensic Magazine |access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>

==Effects==
According to a study headed by Harvard researchers, corporal punishment like spanking could affect the brain development of children. These effects are similar to the more severe form of violence.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/04/spanking-children-may-impair-their-brain-development/ | title=Spanking children may impair their brain development | date=12 April 2021 }}</ref> Corporal punishment is associated with physical injury and abuse, it erodes parent-child relationships, reduces cognitive abilities and IQ scores, leads to mental health problems including depression and anxiety, and it increases adult aggression and anti-social behaviors.<ref>{{cite journal | title=More Harm Than Good: A Summary Of Scientific Research On The Intended And Unintended Effects Of Corporal Punishment On Children - PMC | date=25 August 2021 | pmc=8386132 | last1=Gershoff | first1=E. T. | journal=Law and Contemporary Problems | volume=73 | issue=2 | pages=31–56 | pmid=34446972 }}</ref>

== Rituals ==
In parts of England, boys were once beaten under the old tradition of "[[Beating the Bounds]]" whereby a boy was paraded around the edge of a city or parish and spanked with a switch or cane to mark the boundary.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/3675676.stm "Mayor may axe child spanking rite"], BBC News Online, 21 September 2004.</ref> One famous "Beating the Bounds" took place around the boundary of St Giles and the area where [[Tottenham Court Road]] now stands in central London. The actual stone that marked the boundary is now underneath the [[Centre Point]] office tower.<ref>Ackroyd, Peter. ''London: The Biography'', Chatto & Windus, London, 2000. {{ISBN|1-85619-716-6}}</ref>

In the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], and some parts of [[Hungary]], a tradition for health and fertility is carried out on [[Easter Monday]]. Boys and young men will spank or whip girls and young women on the bottom with braided willow branches. After the man sings the verse, the young woman turns around and the man takes a few whacks at her backside with the whip.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://magicbohemia.com/2019/04/15/whipping-away-infertility-on-easter/|title=Whipping away infertility at Easter|last=babastudio|website=Bohemian Magic|language=en-US|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.incultureparent.com/2012/03/whats-easter-without-a-whipping/|title=What's Easter without a Whipping?|last=Prucha|first=Emily|date=31 March 2012|website=InCultureParent|language=en-US|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[File:Piero - The Flagellation.jpg|thumb|200px| ''The Flagellation'', by Piero della Francesca]]
'''Art'''
* '' [[Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|The Flagellation]]'', (c.1455–70), by [[Piero della Francesca]]. Christ is lashed while [[Pontius Pilate]] looks on.
* ''The Whipping'', (1941), by [[Horace Pippin]]. A figure tied to a whipping post is flogged.<ref>[http://www.reynoldahouse.org/collections/object/the-whipping]| Reynolda House Museum of American Art</ref>

== See also ==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Child discipline]]
* [[Disfigurement]]
* [[Hotsaucing]]
* [[Physical abuse]]
* [[School violence]]
* [[Tough love]]
* [[Virge]]
* [[Washing out mouth with soap]]
}}

== References ==
{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* Barathan, Gopal; ''The Caning of Michael Fay'', (1995). A contemporary account of an American teenager ( [[Michael P. Fay]] ) caned for vandalism in Singapore.
*  Gates, Jay Paul and Marafioti, Nicole; (eds.), ''Capital and Corporal Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England'', (2014). Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
* Moskos, Peter; ''In Defence of Flogging'', (2011). An argument that flogging might be better than jail time.
* Scott, George; '' A History of Corporal Punishment'', (1996).

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110104205059/http://www.religioustolerance.org/spanking.htm "Spanking"]}} (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090119085949/http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=laws-main Center for Effective Discipline (USA)]
* [http://www.corpun.com World Corporal Punishment Research]
* [http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/ Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children]

{{Substantive human rights}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corporal Punishment}}
[[Category:Corporal punishments| ]]