Leading doctors have called for a ban on smacking children in England, warning it puts them at risk of “really significant physical harm”.
Wales outlawed all forms of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking, in March 2022. Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is urging England to follow suit. Senior medics say the evidence is clear: smacking harms children physically and emotionally and offers no benefits.
Currently, the Children Act 2004 makes it illegal to hit a child, except where “reasonable punishment” applies. This defence is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The RCPCH wants MPs to amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to remove this defence. Professor Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician and RCPCH officer for child protection, said: “There is an amendment for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that we would like to see passed, which would remove the defence of reasonable punishment.
“That defence of reasonable punishment of children in England has been around since 1860 but, in recent legislation, it was introduced in the Children Act of 2004. Now is the time for this Victorian-era punishment to go and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill amendment will do that if passed.”
He said 67 countries have banned smacking, with another 20 planning to do so. Professor Rowland added: “The best scientific evidence I’ve got is that physical punishment of children undoubtedly harms children’s health on a population basis.
“It harms their physical health, places them at increased risk of serious physical assault, it harms their mental health and it harms their emotional health and their wellbeing – all of that is shown in robust scientific evidence. There have been no robust scientific studies that have shown that physical punishment of children has any positive effect.
“So it’s not just that the use of it harms children, it also doesn’t benefit them in any way whatsoever.” Calls for a smacking ban have grown since the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif.
She was murdered in August 2023 after a two-year “campaign of torture” by her father and stepmother. Asked about the case, Professor Rowland said: “What happened to Sara was absolutely horrendous, and I can say that as a paediatrician, but also as a member of the public, that no child should suffer as Sara suffered.
“Unrelated to Sara’s case, we know that the international evidence is that children who are physically punished are at risk of serious physical assault – that’s been shown academically.” Labour MP Jess Asato, who proposed the amendment, said: “The health impact evidence of assault on children is clear, and that’s why so many other countries, including Scotland and Wales, have now ensured that children have equal protection from assault and battery.
“Physical punishment is as outdated as it is harmful – and it’s been long since time to put an end to it. The government now has the opportunity to protect children by legislating to bring in this important measure in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.”
A YouGov poll of 3,500 adults in England, commissioned by the NSPCC in January 2024, found that 71% believe smacking, hitting, slapping, or shaking a child is unacceptable. Joanna Barrett, associate head of policy at the NSPCC, said: “We stand in support of the Royal College’s calls for children to be given the same protection against physical punishment as adults, and it’s clear the obvious next step is to amend the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to remove the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence.
“Physical punishment can have a detrimental impact on a child’s wellbeing. It has been associated with depression, anxiety, increased aggression and anti-social behaviour.
“Legal change must happen urgently because right now we know physical punishment remains a part of childhood for too many young people in England.”
