Changing the Law on Physical Punishment in New Zealand

Abstract

Corporal or physical punishment is defined as: “Any punishment in which force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, how- ever light” (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), General Comment No. 8, 2006b, para 11). There is a subtle and fuzzy dis- tinction between definitions of physical punishment and physical abuse, the main difference being the frequency and intensity of the physical vio- lence against children. The dividing line between physical punishment and physical abuse is contested, determined largely by cultural values, and there is no consensus among professionals or researchers about the distinction. “Non-abusive” spanking has been defined by US researchers as 2.5 times within a 27-hour time space, but spanking 6 times a day is deemed to be abusive (Cheng, 2000; Whipple & Richey, 1997). Although injury to the child may help to define the distinction between physical punishment and physical abuse, there are many countries, including the UK and Australia (and before 2007, in New Zealand), where injury to the child is defended as “reasonable chastisement or punishment” or “reasonable force” (Saunders & Goddard, 2010).