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Corporal Punishment In South Africa

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Corporal Punishment of children by parents is still a legally, socially and culturally accepted form of discipline of children in South Africa as well as other countries around the world, but there is a great amount of movement against the use of corporal punishment as we have come to the realisation of the harm that it causes.

Corporal punishment is considered to be the physical punishment on the body, or the infliction of pain by a teacher or of any other educational official upon the body of a student. Corporal punishment is used as a penalty for doing something which has been disapproved of by the punisher, for example parents or teachers. It involves hitting or slapping the child with the use of a hand or any other instruments such as …show more content…

She believes that in banning corporal punishment in all environments, even in the home, will lead to less abuse and violence in society and therefore a more peaceful society for all. Corporal punishment was used as a means to correct behaviour as well as seen as “character building”.

Corporal punishment in South Africa has been used as a form of discipline for a number of years and has withstood scrutiny but recently people have been considering the rights of children when affected by corporal punishment. Corporal punishment goes against the most fundamental rights of any person such as human dignity and physical integrity, the legality of corporal punishment goes against their right to equal protection under the …show more content…

But the punishment in the home environment still needs to be considered. In the case S v Williams and Others5 the court held that the “deliberate infliction of physical pain on the person of the accused offends societies notions of decency and is a direct invasion of the right which every person has to human dignity.” This case found that where authority is used and where it legitimises violence is inconsistent with the values of the Constitution. Therefore, following this ruling corporal punishment was prohibited as a sentence. Corporal punishment in 1996 was prohibited in schools in the South African Schools Act, stating no person may administer corporal punishment at a school to a learner. If anyone is guilty of an offence they could be convicted of assault. This was challenged by Christian Education of South Africa v Minister of Education, the Appellant argued that the prohibition of corporal punishment invaded their individual, parental and community rights for them to freely practice their religion. They argued that the prohibition infringed the following sections 14, privacy, 15, freedom of religion, belief and opinion, 29, the right to establish and maintain independent educational institutions, 30, language and cultural rights as well as 31, the rights to cultural,

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