Reflections on Removing the “Reasonable Punishment” Defence in Wales
In January 2020, Welsh Parliament passed the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act. The Act prohibits corporal punishment in Wales by parents and those acting as parents or guardians. Corporal punishment was already prohibited in institutional settings such as schools.
A paper written by Professor Sally Holland, former Children’s Commissioner for Wales traces the history of attempted legislation around corporal punishment of children from the A v UK (Council of Europe 1998) case to the present day. The paper reflects on the challenges of getting said Act passed, outlining how Julie Morgan MP for Cardiff North (and later a Member of the Welsh Parliament and Welsh Government Minister) campaigned for abolishing corporal punishment in the home for decades, and was one of a group of MPs who attempted to amend the Children Bill 2004 to remove the defence of physical punishment as ‘reasonable punishment’.
As the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) gained legislative powers, members of the Senedd continued to work to ban corporal punishment, and in 2015 there was another attempt by Welsh Members of the Senedd to change the law around corporal punishment for Wales. This attempt was unsuccessful but the political and public mood was shifting and in March of 2019, as the newly appointed Deputy Minister for Social Care, Julie Morgan introduced the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment (Wales) Bill. There was a six-week public consultation, where 650 responses were collected in addition to 12 oral evidence sessions, which involved carers, parents and young people. The Bill was passed in March of 2020.
A media campaign was used to alert the public to the changes, which included billboards, leaflets, and television and radio adverts. Training sessions were also made available, and the Welsh Government organised roadshows.
Professor Sally Holland (2023, p. 158) contends that ‘Wales’s relatively comprehensive public awareness strategy, alongside an unambiguous legal prohibition of physical punishment and waning public acceptance of “smacking” should create the ideal conditions for a rapid decline in physical punishment and a non-punitive system response. It is vitally important that professional responses to physical punishment reports and trends in attitudes and behaviours are regularly evaluated to document the impact of providing full legal protection to children’.
To date, both Scotland and Wales have prohibited the physical punishment of children in their jurisdictions, but campaigners for children’s rights are still waiting for equivalent legislation in England and Northern Ireland, leading to an uneven picture for child protection across the UK.
References
Council of Europe 1998. Case of A. v. United Kingdom. 100.1997/884/1096. Strasbourg: Judgment.
Holland, S. 2023. Removing the “Reasonable Punishment” defence in Wales. Canadian Journal of Children’s Rights / Revue canadienne des droits des enfants 10 (1), pp. 142-163.
Welsh Government. 2023. The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020: First data release. Cardiff: Government Social Research.
