Opinion | Spanking should have no place in Hong Kong homes so our children can feel safe and thrive

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however slight”, and calls it “invariably degrading”. Unfortunately, it is rampant in Hong Kong.

In February, the Social Welfare Department revealed that the number of child abuse cases reached a 14-year high in 2018. Its Child Protection Registry recorded 1,064 cases, up from 947 in 2017, with a parent being the abuser in 64.5 per cent of cases. A breakdown showed that physical assaults predominated, with 493 cases recorded. These figures, while horrifying, are just the tip of the iceberg, as most cases go undetected.

Although many cases are confined to slapping, tragedies are always a possibility. While the case of Chan Sui-lam, the five-year-old girl who died last year after being repeatedly thrown at a ceiling and poked with scissors, was exceptional, children are always in danger when tempers rise domestically. The misery of the children whose lives are blighted by ongoing abuse at home can only be imagined, and very few dare to protest.

A study by the Caritas Youth and Community Service in 2013 discovered that, whereas almost 63 per cent of children surveyed had been struck by their parents in the previous year, 14.5 per cent were adjudged to have been severely abused, sometimes with a belt, stick or other hard object. This can traumatise a child and cause psychological damage.