Consultation on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill

Tystiolaeth i’r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar gyfer craffu Cyfnod 1 Bil Plant (Diddymu Amddiffyniad Cosb Resymol) (Cymru)

Evidence submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee for Stage 1 scrutiny of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill

CADRP-315

CADRP-315

 

About you

Individual

1      The Bill’s general principles

1.1     Do you support the principles of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill?

— No

1.2     Please outline your reasons for your answer to question 1.1

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

Smacking is the role of the parents not the Government and the decision should be theirs. Criminal law should not be used to regulate what is parenting and thus to criminalise caring and loving parents.

Smacking can in no way be regarded as child abuse How can Parents exercising discipline in a loving way be regarded as criminals. There is an immense difference between parental discipline and child abuse. In any case the current law is already protecting children from being the subject of physical violence and to say that a loving correcting smack can be regarded as violence is misleading.

Children on occasions need to be disciplined and many adults who were smacked as children have said it was for their own good and do not regard their parents as abusers.

A smacking ban could result in social workers and police being so overwhelmed with complaints which prove to be trivial that serious cases of child abuse could be missed because of the work load.

Finally I would refer to a poll conducted in 2017 which found that 76% of Welsh Adults were against criminalising smacking and just 11% in favour.

1.3     Do you think there is a need for legislation to deliver what this Bill is trying to achieve?

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

No. As stated above the law already protects children from violence and there is no need for further

legislation to cover loving smacks which it would be misleading to regard as violence.

2      The Bill’s implementation

2.1     Do you have any comments about any potential barriers to  implementing the Bill? If no, go to question 3.1

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

As stated above the fact that the police and social workers  could be overwhelmed by an  increase

in reports of child smacking which would all need to be investigated resulting in difficulty in coping with the increased work load without a substantial increase in staffing. This could cause possible delays in cases of actual child abuse as opposed to loving smacking being investigated and appropriate action taken.  Thus work load and adequate staffing levels  could certainly be a potential barrier to implementation of the provisions of the Bill should it become law

2.2     Do you think the Bill takes account of these potential barriers?

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

-

3      Unintended consequences

3.1     Do you think there are there any unintended consequences arising from the Bill? If no, go to question 4.1

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

Criminalisation of parents who are exercising their parental duties in the discipline of their children and

use mild smacking as a last resort after other actions have failed. When children are not properly disciplined society at large can suffer as can families and the children themselves. An example that is quoted to illustrate this is the increase in child-on-child violence in Sweden after smacking was banned in 1979.

4      Financial implications

4.1     Do you have any comments on the financial implications of the Bill (as set out in Part 2 of the Explanatory Memorandum)? If no, go to question 5.1

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

Increase of staffing costs to cope with the added duties of the police and social workers

5      Other considerations

5.1     Do you have any other points you wish to raise about this Bill?

(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)

No