Nine-in-ten social workers say physical punishment of children should be banned

A new survey finds overwhelming support for removing the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ from the vast majority of social workers and safeguarding professionals.

The YouGov poll of over 700 safeguarding professionals in England also showed that the majority (including 95% of social workers) said they believe a parent using physical punishment on a child negatively affects a child’s mental health.

Almost all (99%) of the social workers polled also said that a parent using physical punishment on a child has a negative impact on the parent and child relationship and 90% said it has a negative impact on a child’s behaviour.

90% of social workers say the law in England should be changed to end the physical punishment of children, while 68% say the law currently makes their work of safeguarding children more difficult.

While Wales and Scotland recently put measures in place to protect children from such harm, the defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ in England means that children are the only section of society who aren't fully protected from physical assault.

Evidence from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and University College London (UCL) recently showed that physical punishment has a detrimental impact on a child and doesn’t improve their behaviour.

“The evidence is clear that physical punishment of children harms their health. The laws around physical punishment as they stand are unjust and dangerously vague. They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may not be unlawful,” Professor Andrew Rowland, Officer for Child Protection at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said.

“As a paediatrician working in child protection services, I am regularly faced with situations where it is alleged that physical punishment has been used against a child. The vague nature of the laws makes it extremely challenging to talk to families about what the rules are around physical punishment of children, thus making it more difficult to talk about the best interests of their children. This lack of legislative clarity can even add an extra layer of complexity when trying to identify cases of genuine child abuse.

“Reducing the number of cases of child abuse must begin with a clear message from society that physical punishment of children, whatever the circumstances, is unacceptable. It is essential that the law is changed to explicitly prohibit all physical punishment of children.”

John McGowan, General Secretary of Social Workers Union (SWU), said the union would welcome an urgent amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to change the law to end the use of physical punishment against children in England.

"This change would provide greater protection to children from violence in the home by repealing the legal defence of ‘reasonable punishment’. Physical punishment has no place in the 21st century. The international evidence tells us that it can have serious impacts on children, and that it is not effective.”

“As a profession, working significantly with children and families, we fully support the aims of the NSPCC amendment to the Bill. We believe that all people, be they adults or children, should be protected from violence in any setting, including their home.”