Doctors Call for Total Ban on Smacking in England

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

According to leading doctors, there is no evidence that spanking has any positive effect on children’s well-being.

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

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

The Department for Education stated that the government has no plans to change the law on smacking but is 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 back the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, tabled by Labour MP Jess Asato in January, the defense of smacking as “reasonable punishment” would be completely outlawed in England.

Currently, the legality of smacking children varies 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” defense still stands.

In England, the defense 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 noted that 67 countries around the world have already adopted smacking bans, with a further 20 committing to do so.

The government stated that it is “looking closely” at the changes made in Scotland and Wales but has 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 stated that there are no scientific studies providing robust evidence that smacking has any positive effect on children’s well-being.

Calls for a ban on smacking intensified after the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was murdered in August 2023 following a “campaign of torture” by her father and stepmother that 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 death.

It is unlawful in England to assault a child causing actual or grievous bodily harm or cruelty, but Prof. Rowland noted that academic studies have shown children who are punished physically are 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”.