Ruptured eardrums, brain damage and other bodily
injuries and death in some instances are some of the bad and tragic
effects of corporal punishment. While the physical damage done to the
body can be treated, the emotional and psychological effects can affect
the survivor deeply. Corporal punishment is the hitting of a person with
a hand or an object such as a cane or belt. It is also kicking, burning,
shaking or throwing of a person with the intention of inflicting pain on
them. Pinching or pulling the hair, forcing one to sit in uncomfortable
or undignified positions, or forcing one to take excessive physical
exercise as a way of disciplining them is tantamount to corporal
punishment.
Although prohibited by law in Nigeria as a way of
disciplining children in schools, corporal punishment is still widely
practised by teachers and by parents in homes. This is because no
measures have been taken to ensure that legislation is implemented and
the behaviour of perpetrators changed.
According to the survey, corporal punishment and other
forms of degrading and humiliating punishment are still widely practised
in Nigeria both at school and at home. Children are often hit with a
hand, a stick or hosepipe in schools when they do wrong. At home they
are hit with sticks, belts, hands and in some cases denied food.
Some parents and child tenders alike practise corporal
punishment because of the belief that children do not grow to be
well-mannered adults if they are not spanked or beaten when they make
mistakes. Some even say that abolishing corporal punishment is a
Western-centric concept that will cause havoc in African cultures and
lead to moral decay.
According to Father Derrick Muwina, an assistant
priest at the Anglican Cathedral of The Holy Cross Lusaka, corporal
punishment only induces fear and distorts reasoning. "Beating or
treating children in a degrading manner are ineffective ways of
disciplining them because they only save as quick fixes that are
detrimental to a child and do not provide a lasting solution to a
problem. In schools for instance, teachers should tell pupils the
benefits of possessing a good character coupled with good academic
performance and also the consequences of one not possessing them. This
approach instils a sense of responsibility in them. On the other hand
corporal punishment induces fear and distorts reasoning. Fr Muwina
asserted: "Children need discipline but they need to learn
self-discipline. There is need to encourage non-violent and
non-humiliating ways of instilling discipline in them."
Corporal punishment does not help a child to develop
into an adult with self-discipline and respect for other people.
Instead, it distorts sound judgement and creates anti-social behaviours.
Fr Muwina further asserted that some people have taken
biblical scriptures literally. He cited Proverbs 11: 7, which says
"spare the rod and spoil the child."
According to Fr Muwina, the portion of the scripture
in question does not literally mean what most people perceive it to
entail "This does not literally mean what it has generally been
perceived to mean. In this case the rod is the code of conduct. The
psalmist says, Thy rod and thy stuff they comfort me. How can something
comfort and cause you pain at the same time? The rod referred to in the
Bible is the code of conduct that is meant to guide and instruct one in
the right path for them to have a disciplined and fulfilling life, Fr
Muwina said.
And according to the same study, corporal punishment
is used more frequently on younger children (6-12 years) than on older
children (13-18 years). Older children experience humiliating and
degrading treatment to a larger extent. There was also a small but
consistent trend for boys to be subjected to corporal punishment while
older girls experienced humiliating and degrading punishment in the form
of verbal abuse to a larger extent.
Corporal punishment works against the process of
ethical development. It teaches children not to engage in a particular
behaviour because they risk being beaten. But it does not teach them the
reasons and ethics for not behaving in a particular manner.
It is said that violence breeds violence. The use of
corporal punishment on children contributes to a perception from an
early age that violence is an appropriate response to conflict
resolution and unwanted behaviour. It teaches them that it is acceptable
for powerful persons to be violent towards the weak and to resolve
conflicts through violence.
The escalating levels of gender violence especially
against women and children are evidence of this archaic and despicable
method of disciplining young people. Children exposed to non-peaceful
ways of conflict resolution often become perpetrators of gender violence
in their adulthood. Exposing children to violence can make them
potential perpetrators of such vices later in life.
Notwithstanding its devastating effects on survivors
and society at large, it is disheartening to note that less than 20
countries globally have adopted legislation to prohibit corporal
punishment of children. Some countries have even outlawed corporal
punishment of children in schools and other institutions.
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