Saturday, March 10, 2007 Corporal punishment still common practice By Grace L. Plata Cub Reporter
CORPORAL punishment or punishment using violent means on children is still a common practice worldwide, and in the Philippines, a study by Save the Children Sweden showed that 82 percent of child-respondents have been hit as a form of punishment.
Most common form of corporal punishment is spanking, according to the study that showed 62 percent of the respondents have been spanked.
This was bared Friday during the Forum on Corporal Punishment spearheaded by Save the Children Sweden, Tambayan Drop-in Center, Adolescent Health Advocates, and Bantay Bata 163.
Violence on children is most of the time committed by people the children know or trust, including family members, teachers and persons of authority, the United Nations (UN) Global Study on Violence Against Children in 2006 showed.
UN defines corporal punishment as any physical, emotional, psychological, humiliating and/or degrading punishment inflicted by an adult (or adults) or by another child who has been given/ assumed authority or responsibility for punishment or discipline.
Violence in the family in form of corporal punishment is common in all countries, says the UN study.
According to Rowena Cordero, country manager of Save the Children Sweden, their objective is to disseminate the findings of the UN Study and help in formulating a local plan of action how to address the issue.
"Every area has its own specific needs, which calls for a different set of strategies for effective response to the problem," Cordero said.
She added that the conveners in Davao will serve as the core group that will coordinate with other areas in Mindanao to come up with a comprehensive action plan.
According to City Councilor Leonardo Avila III, who was present at the forum as a child's rights advocate, an effective way of addressing the issue is not to separate the child from the context of the family.
Avila said that as the family is the support system for children, a program to improve parenting skills should be incorporated in the campaign to stop corporal punishment in the home.
Outputs of the forum nationwide will be incorporated in a national plan of action aimed at lobbying for a bill that will put a ban on corporal punishment especially in the homes.
