Image Source: Honoré Daumier – Public Domain

Nearly a half-century after the Supreme Court ruled that school spankings are permissible and not “cruel and unusual punishment,” many U.S. states allow physical punishment for students who have misbehaved.

Today, over a third of the states allow teachers to paddle or spank students. More than 100,000 students are paddled in U.S. schools each year.

What spanking legislation exists worldwide?

Around the world, 68 countries have banned the hitting of children in any form, including spanking. This movement began in 1979 with Sweden’s ban on all forms of physical punishment, including spanking in any setting, and including in the family home.

The pace of change quickened in the early 2000s when more countries adopted similar laws. For example, the legal language of countries like Nepal rests on an emerging definition of children as rights holders similar to adults and as humans worth protecting from harm.

What are US policies toward spanking?

Each state in the U.S. has its own child abuse laws, and all states, tribes and territories aim to protect children from abuse. But all state laws also allow parents to hit their children if it does not leave an injury or a mark.

A typical example is Oklahoma’s definition of child abuse and neglect. It includes an exception that permits parents to use ordinary force as a means of discipline, including spanking, using an implement like a switch or a paddle. However, leaving evidence of hitting, such as welts, bruises, swelling or lacerations, is illegal and considered child abuse in all states.

Parental spanking of children is considered unique from other physical violence because of the relational context and the purpose. Laws entitle parents to hit their children for the purpose of teaching a lesson or punishing them to improve behavior. Children are the only individuals in society who can be hit by another person and the law does not regard it as assault.

Spanking’s impact on a child is unfortunately similar to abusive hitting. Spanking has been

© CounterPunch