Brazil proposes to ban spanking of children

The BBC reports that Brazil’s President has proposed a law that would ban the use of any cruel or degrading treatment that humiliates or seriously threatens children, including spanking.

Corporal punishment in schools was made illegal in schools some years ago, in this country. In the case of A v United Kingdom [1999] 27 EHRR 611 a child was awarded £10,0000 by the European Court of Human Rights after being severely beaten by his stepfather. The domestic courts of the United Kingdom had rejected A’s claim on the grounds that the stepfather was entitled to employ “reasonable chastisement.” The ECHR held that this was a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.