Correctional Violence In Schools

In recent years, spanking and use of physical discipline towards a child has not only been a hotly debated issue in parenting but in Canadian politics and law as well. For centuries physical acts such as spanking, slapping and grabbing have been popular ways to discipline children, but does that mean such abuse should be justified? Amidst numerous recognition of the rights of children by advocates and the government to monumental societal changes regarding parental discipline, correctional violence against a child is still permitted as a defense and an exception for assault. The focus on correctional violence will be primarily focus on the justification as used for parents, as most province have banned corporal punishment in schools. The Criminal …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, the use of violence as a means of child rearing has been prevalent in society for centuries which parents often use as justification for such practices. From what we know now, this method of parental control is ineffective as it does not correct long-term behaviour issues but rather puts children at risk for various mental problems even when force is merely “transitory and trifling”. In a study analyzing the relationship between corporal punishment and childhood depression, researchers found that symptoms of depression were lowest in children who experience little to no use of corporal punishment and highest in those that endure it alongside negative parent-child communication (Wimsatt, Fite, Grassetti and Rathert 228). As we know, depression is both recognized and classified as a serious debilitating illness. This illness is extremely unheard of in young children and could compromise their ability to self-transcend and develop into cognizant adults. A multitude of other mental illness have also been linked to the use of correctional force such as anxiety, antisocial behaviour, impulsiveness and aggression (Durrant. Ensom 2012; Gershoff 2002a qtd. In Fréchette, Zoratti and Romano 136). These findings are especially alarming when considering children are experiencing symptoms of such profound illnesses due to an avoidable method of …show more content…
The democratic country of Sweden was the first country to ban the use of corporal punishment as of 1979, and also the first to ban a defense to assault by way of correctional punishment in 1957. Before the ban a vast majority were pro-correctional violence with 53% in favour but now has lowered to 11%, which is also indicative of diminished use (Durrant, “Evaluating the Success” 444). This dramatic decline in support and use after legislation can be attributed to the wider recognition by parents and society of the damaging effects this method has combined with more awareness of the legal implications. If applied to Canada, even lesser support and tolerance for violence than there already is could also proceed similarly. A common concern that individuals in Canada have is that if section 42 was repealed, there would be no effective measure to adequately discipline a child. In regards to the effect on parenting, most Swedish parents after the ban find that the use of correctional violence is both futile and damaging and feel shame when relapse occurs (Durrant, Rose-Krasnor and Broberg qtd. In Durrant, “Legal Reforms and Attitudes” 161). This indicates that these parents do not believe their parenting is ineffective if they do not partake in physical punishment, but rather the latter. Their non-violent parenting