Spare the child

It is time we spare the child

Child abuse is endemic in Pakistan. From one corner of society to another, all are at the brink of horrific abuse and punishment towards children. This seems to happen because they can get away with it. From the cleric who feels no shame in breaking the teeth of a ten-year-old girl. From teachers who can push their student off the top floor of a school building. To the countless monsters that assault children, break their bones and leave them paralysed. It is common for us to come across stories of corporal punishment that are inhumane even with our degraded standards of human and child rights. These stories demand an end to corporal punishment. Something must change because there are countless stories that don’t make it to news but permanently imbue violence in children to be passed down over generations.

The problem is we are a society that believes that sparing the rod will only spoil the child. In 2013, Plan Pakistan conducted a study in which a ghastly 67 per cent of the teachers agreed that physical punishment is necessary for most children. This is a total disregard of the psychological impact of fear of corporal punishment on a child as long as it disciplines them. Even parents agree that beating children is justified and this is why corporal punishment is extensively used as a disciplinary measure in both our homes and schools.

The biggest disappointment comes from the state itself, which declares hitting a child as lawful. Article 89 of the Penal Code 1860 provides a legal defence for the person imparting corporal punishment in good faith for the benefit of anyone less than twelve years of age, or of unsound mind. In these settings two things are more than clear. First, a child in Pakistan has no legal protection from torture at home and school. Second, overhauling reforms are needed to make necessary changes to laws, attitudes and practices to protect our children.

It is important for us to move ahead with changing attitudes before pursuing legal reforms because changes in the law alone cannot guarantee protection of children. However, we can effectively safeguard the rights of our children through a comprehensive information campaign in the absence of any legal cover. It is necessary to raise the social status of children and discard violence as a tool to discipline them.

Our society’s relationship with children is marred by legal clauses that allow them to be subjected to violent punishment. It overlooks them as human beings and rights holders. The state has to become a responsible party in ensuring protection of children, their rights and their status as human beings. As a matter of urgency, the state should repeal section 89 of the Penal Code of 1860 and prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in all settings.

In addition to legal reforms, there is an immediate need to set up an effective monitoring system. The code of conduct for teachers and professionals working with children or for children must also include the prohibition of corporal punishment.

We have to move forward with the prohibition of corporal punishment agenda because our children need to be protected. It is no longer acceptable to let alarmingly brutal incidents of violence against children to recur in our society. We are party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly states that a child must be “protected from all forms of physical and mental violence while in the care of parents and others.” We have to protect our children by employing a multi-pronged strategy that shapes up public attitudes, informs all stakeholders, legally prohibits corporal punishment, and monitors everyone who deals with our children.

It is time we defined in the code of conduct for teachers and educators that physical violence is not acceptable. It is time we spared the child.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2017.

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