Child corporal punishment laws
The legality of corporal punishment of children varies by country. Corporal punishment of minor children by parents or adult guardians, which is intended to cause physical pain, has been traditionally legal in nearly all countries unless explicitly outlawed. According to a 2014 estimate by Human Rights Watch, "Ninety percent of the world's children live in countries where corporal punishment and other physical violence against children is still legal". Many countries' laws provide for a defence of "reasonable chastisement" against charges of assault and other crimes for parents using corporal punishment. This defence is ultimately derived from English law. As of, only one permanent member of the United Nations Security Council along with three of seven G7 members and seven of the 20 G20 member states have banned the use of corporal punishment against children.
Prohibition
Countries that have completely prohibited corporal punishment of children are listed below :- '
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Laws by country
Argentina
Banned in 1813, school corporal punishment was re-legalised in 1817 and punishments by physical pain lasted until the 1980s. The instruments were rebenques, slappings in the face and others. All corporal punishment was prohibited by a law in 2014 which came into force in January 2016.Australia
In Australia, corporal punishment of minors in the home is legal, provided it is "reasonable". Corporal punishment in public schools is illegal in all states, and in private schools it is only allowed in Queensland. Parents who act unreasonably may be committing an assault. The Australian state of Tasmania is continuing to review the state's laws on the matter, and may seek to ban the use of corporal punishment by parents. The matter is also under review in other Australian states. A 2002 public opinion survey suggested the majority view was in support of retaining parents' right to smack with the open hand but not with an implement, although as of 2010, there are no laws against using an implement in any state or territory. In New South Wales, S61AA of the Crimes Act allows a parent a defence of lawful correction. In New South Wales, one specifically cannot smack a child on the head or neck, and the child cannot be more than briefly harmed or bruised.Austria
School corporal punishment was explicitly prohibited in Austria in 1974. In 1977, corporal punishment in the home was outlawed by removing the section in the constitution of assault in the Penal Code that stated that parents who have used "reasonable punishment" of their children shall not be punished for assault. On 15 March 1989, corporal punishment of children became explicitly banned through a new law stating that "using violence and inflicting physical or mental suffering is unlawful".Belarus
Corporal punishment in schools was banned in Belarus during the Soviet era, however it was decriminalized after its authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko took power in 1994. It is only permitted for male students older than 14. It cannot be inflicted on girls. School beltings are rare in major cities and remain much more common in rural areas, where parents tend to raise their children in more conservative manners. In 2018, Lukashenko rejected the bill that would have outlawed corporal punishments for minors both in educational facilities and at home, arguing that he himself belted his children in their adolescence to discipline them.Canada
In Canada, parents may use physical force to discipline their children, including spanking, but there are several restrictions.Section 43 of the Criminal Code provides that parents may use "reasonable" force as a form of discipline. The constitutionality of this provision was challenged in the courts, on the basis that it infringed the rights of children, contrary to three sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the right to security of the person, protected by section 7 of the Charter; the right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and punishment, protected by section 12 of the Charter; and the right to equality, protected by section 15 of Charter. In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the constitutional challenge on all grounds, on a 6–3 split, in Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada.
In upholding section 43, the majority of the Court provided considerable guidance to the interpretation of the provision. The majority held that the person administering the discipline must be a parent or legal guardian, or in some cases, a school teacher ; that the force must be used "by way of correction", that the child must be capable of benefiting from the correction, and that the use of force must be "reasonable under the circumstances", meaning that it results neither in harm nor in the prospect of bodily harm. Punishment involving slaps or blows to the head is harmful, the Court held. Use of any implement other than a bare hand is illegal and hitting a child in anger or in retaliation for something a child did is not considered reasonable and is against the law. The Court defined "reasonable" as force that would have a "transitory and trifling" impact on the child. For example, spanking or slapping a child so hard that it leaves a mark that lasts for several hours would not be considered "transitory and trifling".
Among the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, formed to redress the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system, is a call to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code.
Colombia
On 23 March 2021, the Senate of Colombia unanimously voted to approve a bill that prohibits physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading acts, and violence as forms of correctional approaches for the upbringing of children and adolescents in Colombia.Czech Republic
Until 2026, the Czech Republic had remained the only country in the European Union that does not outlaw child corporal punishment or plan to introduce such a law. On July 17, 2025, the president signed an amendment to the Civil Code, making corporal punishment of children explicitly prohibited by law, beginning January 1, 2026.Denmark
Corporal punishment in schools in Denmark became explicitly prohibited in 1967 and in 1985, parents' right to use corporal punishment of their children became outlawed through a new law which required parents "to protect their child from physical and psychological violence and other humiliating treatment". However, the law was believed to still support corporal punishment as there was a controversy whether the law permitted parents to punish their children physically or otherwise. Therefore, after several years of debate, a new, clearer law came into force on 28 May 1997, providing that "The child has right to care and security. It must be treated with respect for its person and must not be subjected to corporal punishment or other humiliating treatment".Denmark's autonomous territories, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, banned corporal punishment of children in 2007 and 2016, respectively.
Finland
School corporal punishment was banned in 1914. Parents' right to use corporal punishment of their children was outlawed in 1969 when the section in the constitution of assault in the Penal Code, stating that a "petty assault" was not punishable if committed by parents or others who exercise their right to chastise a child, was removed. In 1983, corporal punishment of children was explicitly banned.France
In the Napoleonic era parents were explicitly allowed to physically punish their children. Spanking was previously popular, with 85% of French parents admitting to using it. However, in 2019, the National Assembly approved a bill introducing a complete ban on all forms of physical punishment of children and required mayors officiating at civil weddings to remind couples that violence against children is unlawful. The law makes corporal punishment a civil offense, not a criminal one.Germany
was prohibited in East Germany. In the Federal Republic, it was prohibited at different times in its different states between 1975 and 1983.In the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1980 it became prohibited for parents to educate their children with "degrading measures", of which the common interpretation was that corporal punishment of children was still permitted as long as it was not "degrading". On 1 July 1998, corporal punishment was outlawed through a new law stating that "Degrading educational measures, especially physical and psychological maltreatment, are inadmissible"; the common interpretation of that law was that parents still had some right to use corporal punishment on their children. In November 2000, that law was replaced with a new more clear and strict law stating that "Children have right to a non-violent upbringing. Corporal punishment, psychological violence and other degrading educational measures are inadmissible."
Greece
The 2006 enacted Law 3500/06 on the treatment of domestic violence prohibits the use of physical violence against a minor as a means of punishment in the context of his upbringing, with the explicit clarification - in the explanatory memorandum - that corporal punishment is not included. to the permissible penitentiary measures of article 1518 of the Civil Code and that its use entails for the parents the consequences of the bad exercise of parental care.Specifically, Article 4 provides that physical violence against minors as a means of punishment in the context of their upbringing brings about the consequences of Article 1532 of the Civil Code. The explanatory memorandum to this article states, among other things: “The regulation of Article 4 makes it clear that corporal punishment against children is not included in the permissible punishment measures of Article 1518 of the Civil Code in accordance with modern pedagogical views. It constitutes a case of poor exercise of custody and for this reason brings about the application of article 1532 of the Civil Code. According to this article, in such a case, the court may order any appropriate measure. "Any act of inflicting pain or physical discomfort on a minor should be treated as physical violence, with the aim of punishing or controlling his behavior."