Almost two thirds of adults in Northern Ireland are in favour of legal reform to end the physical punishment of children, new research published by the NSPCC can reveal.
The survey, carried out by NSPCC Northern Ireland, reveals that 65% of adults, rising to 71% in parents, would support removing the defence of reasonable punishment of children and giving children the same protection in law as adults.
Currently, the law in Northern Ireland allows parents or those caring for a child to physically punish them, by enabling them to raise a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ if they are charged with an offence of assault.
The NSPCC and other organisations have been campaigning for the Northern Ireland Assembly to remove this defence because research shows that physically punishing a child is harmful to children, as well as being ineffective in changing long term behaviour.
Changing the law would bring Northern Ireland in line with 63 other countries. In Wales, legal change is underway, and in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Jersey the law has already changed, leaving children in Northern Ireland with less protection from assault than their peers in most other parts of the UK and Ireland.
In the NSPCC Northern Ireland survey, support for legal reform rose to 70% of adults and 74% of parents if the change was accompanied with information and support on how to manage children’s behaviour effectively. Only a third of parents surveyed had received any information on positive parenting, with non-Governmental sources most frequently cited.
The research also found that only 25% of adults and 23% of parents surveyed consider physical punishment an effective form of discipline.
Three quarters of parents surveyed also said reassurance that they could physically intervene to keep a child safe from immediate danger, such as crossing a road, would make them more likely to support a change in the law.
The children’s charity believes the need for reform has never been so clear and warns that the pandemic and lockdown have rapidly increased the ever-growing risks that children have had to face. The NSPCC’s Childline service took thousands of contacts from children throughout the pandemic, with many children describing an escalation in severity of violence and many unsure if they were experiencing physical punishment or abuse. NSPCC Northern Ireland wants the NI Executive to send a very clear message to children that protecting them matters, by removing the defence of reasonable punishment and putting children at the heart of its response to post-covid recovery.
NSPCC Northern Ireland Policy and Public Affairs manager, Natalie Whelehan, said, “When you look at the survey results, along with the other research we have available, the message is very clear. Parents and other adults in Northern Ireland do not believe that physical punishment is an acceptable form of discipline, nor do they think it is effective in managing children’s behaviour.
“An overwhelming number of parents and other adults surveyed welcomed legal reform in Northern Ireland. And support rose even further when parents were reassured that they could intervene to keep children safe, the change would be well-publicised, and they would receive support and information on managing children’s behaviour effectively. Shockingly, this is something that most parents have never been given.
“At the NSPCC we believe that it is vital the Northern Ireland Assembly listens to parents, reforms the law and gives them the information and support they clearly require, in line with its commitments on positive parenting. Parents have a range of methods open to them to discipline their children, but physical punishment should never be one of them.”
The NSPCC is part of a coalition of organisations campaigning for reform in order to give children equal protection from assault. For more information and to register your support for the campaign, visit the NICCY website at Equal Protection Campaign (niccy.org)
For more information on using positive parenting, including ways to set clear and consistent boundaries, parents and carers can visit the NSPCC website at Support for parents | NSPCC