Public education needed before corporal punishment ban, says Gordon Harrison

THERE IS a need for more public education around what constitutes violent discipline before any move to institute a total ban on corporal punishment, Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison has asserted.

Her comments follow the findings of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) which revealed that approximately three quarters of Jamaican children are subjected to violent forms of physical discipline.

The research, conducted between April and August in 2022, found that 76 per cent of Jamaican children aged 1-14 experienced violent discipline.

Further, it stated that 57 per cent of children experienced physical punishment, including four per cent who received severe physical punishment such as slapping or hitting on the face, head or ears, and hitting or beating a child hard and repeatedly.

Additionally, about seven out of every 10 children experienced psychological aggression as a form of child discipline.

The National Violence Prevention Commission, which was mandated to conduct a comprehensive review of all existing public and private violence-prevention programmes and government strategies, had recommended a total ban on corporal punishment.

Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams, told The Gleaner that a ban on corporal punishment is one of the considerations in the ongoing amendment to the Child Care and Protection Act.

And while noting that she is not against the suggestion, Gordon Harrison said that public education is a crucial element of this measure.

“When you go to the legislative ban and to say we’re gonna ban corporal punishment and lock people up if they do it, if people don’t know then it means that we’re doing them a disservice, so public education has to go hand in hand with any kind of legislative response,” she said.

‘Alarming’, but realistic

She told The Gleaner that even though the statistic may sound “alarming”, it is very realistic given the historical and cultural context of Jamaicans.

“It’s not just beating with a board that has nail in it or with a strap and physically causing welts or broken skin, violent discipline is any form of corporal punishment so that includes pinching the child, slapping the child without any marks being left, it also includes spanking, paddling, spooning, anything that requires or results in physical contact with the child,” she said.

“It is almost reflex culture for a mother who is annoyed at her child to slap the child once or twice to make them behave,” she added.

With this in mind, Gordon Harrison emphasised the importance of helping people to understand the nuances of corporal punishment through conversation focusing on the generational impact of violent discipline on children.

This she said is reflected in self-esteem issues, anxiety, questions about self-worth, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, among others.

Equally important, she stated, was the need for parents and caregivers to be given suitable alternatives.

“Because children will always need to be guided, they will need to understand that there are certain things that are appropriate and not (appropriate), but the question is how do we impart that knowledge without resulting in acts of physical violence,” she said.

The MICS was carried out by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica as part of the Global MICS Programme.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com