Children's Human Rights and Social Work Advocacy: “Lawful Correction”

ABSTRACT

In Australia, adults are afforded greater protection from assault than children. The “lawful correction” defence stems from an 1860 UK judgement that condoned the correction of “evil in the child” through the infliction of “moderate and reasonable corporal punishment”, including with an implement. While more enlightened attitudes towards children are now evident, “childism” (discriminatory and disempowering attitudes towards children) persists. Corporal punishment remains an outdated parental privilege, and a lawful infringement of children’s human rights. In light of increasing scientific research evidence of its detrimental effects, it is also a public health issue, and this article advocates for its full prohibition. Despite United Nations’ censure, and bans in 54 countries, Australian governments have failed to adequately recognise children’s rights to dignity and protection from harm. As social work positions itself as a human rights profession seeking to address injustice, disempowerment, and disadvantage, social workers and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) are called to advocate for children and for law reform.

IMPLICATIONS

• Social work is a human rights profession, well positioned to advocate for a ban on physical punishment as it infringes children’s rights, and is a public health issue.

• Social workers and the AASW can join with other child- and human-rights-focused professionals and organisations to encourage and support parents to adopt positive and constructive parenting approaches, and to cease resorting to physical punishment as a means of discipline and control.

在澳大利亚，成人受到保护免遭攻击的情况要多于儿童。对“合法纠正”的辩护起于1860年英国的判决，该判决容忍通过“温和而合理的肉体惩罚”来修正“儿童的邪恶”。虽然这些年有了更开通的态度，但对“小毛孩子”的歧视和轻视依然存在。肉体惩罚仍是一种老派的家长特权，是对儿童人权的合法侵害。不但越来越多的科学研究证明了这种做法的害处，它也成为了一个公共卫生话题。本文支持将其彻底废止。尽管有联合国谴责，有54个国家禁止，但澳大利亚政府却尚未充分承认儿童享受尊严、免受攻击的权利。社会工作既为解决不公、不能、不利的一种人权事业，社会工作者以及澳大利亚社工协会就应起而保护儿童、改革法律。

KEYWORDS:

• Physical Punishment
• Child Protection
• Social Work Advocacy
• Human Rights
• Law Reform
• Parenting

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Bernadette J. Saunders http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3830-9874