Doctors demand complete smacking ban in England

 Doctors demand complete smacking ban in England

Child doctors have joined calls for a total ban on smacking children in England. 

According to the leading doctors, there is no evidence that spanking has any positive effect on children's wellbeing. 

Currently, smacking is unlawful in England, except in cases where it amounts to a "reasonable punishment". 

Now the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) wants that legal defence to be removed, using an amendment to a law which is currently making its way through Parliament. 

The Department for Education said the government had no plans to change the law on smacking, but that it was committed to giving every child the best start in life. 

Prof Andrew Rowland, RCPCH officer for child protection, said: "Now is the time for this Victorian-era punishment to go." 

If enough MPs backed the amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, tabled by Labour MP Jess Asato in January, then the defence of smacking as a "reasonable punishment" would be completely outlawed in England. 

Currently, the situation on smacking children is different depending on where you are in the UK. 

In Scotland and Wales, corporal - or physical - punishment is illegal, but in England and Northern Ireland the "reasonable punishment" defence still stands. 

In England, the defence is included in the Children Act of 2004, but smacking children has been permitted by law since 1860. 

Scotland was the first UK country to ban corporal punishment in November 2020, followed by Wales in March 2022. 

Prof Rowland said there were 67 countries around the world which had already adopted smacking bans, with a further 20 committing to do so. 

The government said it was "looking closely" at the changes made in Scotland and Wales, but had no plans to legislate on smacking at this stage. 

When looking at populations as a whole, Prof Rowland said physical punishment "undoubtedly harms children's health". 

He said there were no scientific studies which provided robust evidence that smacking had any positive effect on children's wellbeing. 

Calls for a ban on smacking intensified after the de@th of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was murdered in August 2023 after a "campaign of torture" by her father and stepmother which lasted for two years. 

Her father, who had fled to Pakistan after the murd£r, had phoned police in England claiming he had "legally punished" Sara before her de@th. 

It is unlawful in England to assault a child causing actual or grievous bodily harm, or cruelty, but Prof Rowland said academic studies had shown children who were punished physically were at an increased risk of serious physical assault. 

He said a complete ban on smacking would make it easier for the authorities to "draw a line and say there are never any circumstances involved where physical punishment of children is ever legal".