Scotland to ban parents from spanking their children
- Lawmakers vote 84 to 29 to introduce law making it criminal offence to use physical punishment against child
- Opponents say move will criminalise fathers and mothers and tie police up with trivial cases
Scottish lawmakers voted on Thursday to ban parents and carers from spanking children.
Lawmakers in the Scottish Parliament voted by 84 to 29 to introduce a law that will make it a criminal offence for parents to use physical punishment against a child.
Currently, parents can use “reasonable” physical force to discipline children.
Scotland is the first part of Britain to outlaw spanking. The law will come into force within 12 months of it being approved by Queen Elizabeth.
“Violence is never acceptable in any setting,” said Green Party lawmaker John Finnie, who introduced the legislation.
“Physical punishment has no place in 21st-century Scotland,” Finnie, a former police officer, said. “The international evidence tells us that it can have serious impacts on children, and that it is not effective.”