Govt urged to take necessary steps to end corporal punishment

Islamabad : The Chairperson National Commission on the Rights of Child, Afshan Tehseen calls on all stakeholders particularly the government to take necessary steps to end corporal punishment of children and create a safe environment for children to learn without having to fear for well-being.

April 30 marked the International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children, a day that draws awareness to this important issue and urges all stakeholders for renewed efforts to combat it. Pakistan has also ratified international conventions prohibiting the use of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of children, both physical and mental.

Corporal punishment -- always a breach of children’s human rights -- is the most common form of violence against children. It is a widespread social practice that normalizes violence against children, entrenching children’s low status in society and paving the way for other forms of violence and mistreatment. It is associated with a wide range of short and long-term negative impacts, both for the individual and society.

Nearly 22.5 million Pakistani children are out of school, most of them girls, and corporal punishment remains one of the reasons attributed to higher drop-out rates in schools. The government should act urgently to end corporal punishment in schools and create a safe environment for Pakistani children to learn.

Chairperson lauded the role of legislators in a historic passing of a bill in the National Assembly to ban corporal punishment in educational institutions and seminaries in the capital. The ICT Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill calls for banning all forms of corporal punishment in educational institutions, including formal, non-formal, and seminaries, in both the public and private sectors as well as childcare institutions and rehabilitation centres.

The Chairperson NCRC urges legislators to further work on strengthening the legislative process at the provincial level to protect children against corporal punishment in all settings. The Chairperson NCRC called upon all the duty-bearers to put children at the heart of development with the topmost priority.

“This can only be ensured when children will be given priority in the national plan of action through provision of adequate budget and its proper utilization through providing functional and efficient child protection systems at the grassroots level,” she said.