Although millions of US parents approve, decades of research shows that spanking is harmful.
Articles on Spanking
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Extensive evidence shows the harms of spanking, and 65 other countries or states worldwide have already banned it. Why has Canada not done the same by repealing Section 43 of the Criminal Code?
Too often, corporal punishment breaks young people and brutalises them.
There’s increasing global recognition that violence against women and children often occur together in homes.
Until Canadians challenge the normalization of violence against children, we will continue to support, or at least tacitly condone, something that by all accounts is harmful.
A groundbreaking High Court ruling outlawing the spanking of children in South Africa has outraged some Christian bodies that claim parents are entitled to hit their children in a “godly way”.
The debate on spanking is over. Scientific studies consistently show that it is harmful to children, increasing the likelihood of mental health problems and antisocial behaviours.
World Suicide Prevention Day draws attention to the rising tide of teenagers taking their own lives. “Toxic socialization” involving emotional and physical abuse in families is a major cause.
And yet it’s still technically legal in the UK.
Spanking does not lead to better behavior by children. Instead, it could lead to some adverse, long-term consequences.
Senator Ted Cruz recently stated that he spanks his five-year-old daughter for lying. Spanking kids can cause tremendous damage to kids’ mental health – even if it is an occasional light rap.
Top contributors
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Professor and Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience, University of Manitoba
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Professor of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin
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Senior Researcher, Unit for Religion and Development Research, Stellenbosch University
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Campus and Secondary Principal at the International School of Geneva's La Grande Boissière, Research Associate at the University of Geneva's department of Education and Psychology, Université de Genève, Université de Genève
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Professor, University of Cape Town
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Full Professor of Clinical Psychology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
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Sandra K. Danziger Collegiate Professor of Social Work, University of Michigan
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Associate professor, Brock University
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Professor of Law , Northumbria University, Newcastle
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Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine; Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Psychiatric Times., Tufts University
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
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Associate Professor, Sociology, Athabasca University
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Associate Dean in the College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines, University of North Dakota