Wales Outlaws Physical Punishment For Children

Wales on Monday banned any physical punishment for children that includes any kind of corporal punishment, including slapping, hitting, slapping and shaking.

The “ban on whipping”, as it was known, was introduced under the Children (Abolition of the Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 and marks the end of the common law defence of “reasonable punishment” .

It means that children will get the same protection from assault as adults, and that the law will apply to everyone, including those visiting Wales, as all Welsh law did.

Parents or anyone responsible for a child while the parents are absent can now face criminal or civil charges if they are found to have physically disciplined a youth in any way.

Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh government has insisted the move is about protecting children’s rights.

Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children have the right to be protected from harm, and this includes physical punishment.

“That right is now enshrined in Welsh law. No more grey areas. No more ‘reasonable punishment defence’. All of that is in the past.”

Wales joins more than 60 nations around the world in legislating against the physical punishment of children.

Scotland introduced its own ban in November 2020.