16 days of Activism: Corporal punishment of children fuels gender-based violence

Children in South Africa are exposed to excessive levels of violence, in their communities, schools and homes. As the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign proceeds it is important to review the link between corporal punishment and gender-based violence.

Corporal punishment is the hitting of a person with a hand or an object such as a cane or belt. According to Father Derrick Muwina, an assistant priest at the Anglican Cathedral of The Holy Cross Lusaka, corporal punishment only induces fear and distorts reasoning. “Beating or treating children in a degrading manner are ineffective ways of disciplining them because they only save as quick fixes that are detrimental to a child and do not provide a lasting solution to a problem.

Children who are exposed to violence at home learn early and powerful lessons about the use of violence to solve their problems and dominate others. “Corporal punishment is one of the key drivers of the high levels of violence against children in South Africa. Recent findings followed more than 2000 children in Soweto from birth to 22 years old showed that 50% of younger children have experienced violence in the home most often through physical punishment by parents said Professor Shanaaz Mathews, Director of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town.

In September 2019, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that parents could no longer use “reasonable chastisement” as a defence in cases of violence against children. In other words, corporal punishment was being banned in homes. His excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the emergency action plan the government also launched in September aims to implement behaviour change campaigns, strengthen the criminal justice system, create more economic opportunities for women and improve access to justice for victims.

Society tends to show two different reactions to corporal punishment in homes.  On the one hand, many view physical violence against children as an effective means of discipline. On the other, we continue to be outraged by high-profile cases of gender-based violence in what we see as a “war against women”. Not only is corporal punishment and physical abuse more prevalent in homes where domestic violence is tolerated, but children who are exposed to domestic violence are more likely to be either perpetrators or victims of violence themselves.

Last year, 1,014 children in SA were murdered and 736 children were charged with murder. This was a marked increase in both instances from previous years. According to UNICEF Jamaica Representative, Mariko Kagoshima , research and experience across the world prove that there are ways to raise respectful, well-mannered children without hitting or hurting them emotionally. A poll was conducted by UNICEF and the Office of the Children’s Advocate through UNICEF’s U-Report messaging platform revealed that 62 per cent of the 1,500 respondents disagreed with corporal punishment.

Evidence also shows that men’s use of violence and control towards their partner often extends to them disciplining their children through physical punishment and that women who experience violence at the hands of their partner are more likely to use physical punishment to discipline their children. Many parents struggle with the dichotomy of discipline versus abuse thus they resort to corporal punishment to discipline their children. They believe discipline is delivered by parents who love and care for their children, while abuse is inflicted by cruel and uncaring parents. Research shows this is not true, and in most cases, physical punishment is physical abuse in intent, form and effect.

Catherine (57), a parent who shared her views on corporal punishment with parent 24, “My parents raised me in London, and it was a bit different there, but they used to give me good hidings when I did something wrong. They were Christians and they believed in Proverbs 13:24, which states that ‘Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them’. “My children are old now, but when they were younger, I used corporal punishment and it worked. They even use it with their own children too. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, these rights are making everyone crazy these days. That’s why we have so much crime; people don’t know right from wrong,”.