Chastisement

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Chastisement is the infliction of corporal punishment as defined by law.

Contents

Minors

English common law allowed parents and others who have "lawful control or charge" of a child to use "moderate and reasonable" chastisement or correction. In the 1860 Eastbourne manslaughter case, Alexander Cockburn as Chief Justice ruled: "By the law of England, a parent ... may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the child, inflict moderate and reasonable corporal punishment, always, however, with this condition, that it is moderate and reasonable." It was left to the courts to decide what is meant by "moderate and reasonable" in any particular case. [1]

The rights of parents, guardians and teachers, in regard to the chastisement of children, were expressly recognized in English law by the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act 1904 (§ 28). A master had a right to inflict moderate chastisement upon his apprentice for neglect or other misbehaviour, provided that he did so himself, and that the apprentice was under age (Archbold, Cr. Pl., 23rd ed., 795). [2]

In England and Wales, section 58 of the Children Act 2004 enables parents to justify common assault or battery of their children as "reasonable punishment", but prevents the defence being used in relation to Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (i.e. when causing anything beyond "transient and trifling" such as bruising) and any more serious harm. [1]

In law in the Republic of Ireland, the rule of law allowing "physical chastisement" by teachers was abolished in 1997, [3] and the common-law defence of "reasonable chastisement" by parents and guardians was abolished in 2015. [4]

Married women

William Blackstone wrote in the 18th century in the Commentaries on the Laws of England: [5]

The husband also (by the old law) might give his wife moderate correction. For, as he is to answer for her misbehavior, the law thought it reasonable to entrust him with this power of restraining her, by domestic chastisement, (...) But this power of correction was confined within reasonable bounds; and the husband was prohibited to use any violence to his wife, (...) other than lawfully and reasonably pertains to the husband for the rule and correction of his wife. The civil law gave the husband the same, or a larger, authority over his wife; allowing him, for some misdemeanors, to beat his wife severely with whips and sticks, for others, only with moderate punishment.
But, with us, in the politer reign of Charles the Second, this power of correction began to be doubted: and a wife may now have security of the peace against her husband; or, in return, a husband against his wife.... Yet the lower rank of people, who were always fond of the old common law, still claim and exert their ancient privilege: and the courts of law will still permit a husband to restrain a wife of her liberty, in case of any gross misbehavior.

In the UK the old law of moderate correction was similarly removed in 1891. [6] [2] [7]

In the United States courts have been recognised the right of men to chastise their wives. [6] In 1870, a court in North Carolina ruled it will not interfere with family government in trifling cases, adding: "We may assume that the old doctrine that a husband has a right to whip his wife provided he used a switch not larger than his thumb is not law in North Carolina." [6]

By the end of the 1870s the right of a husband to chastise his wife had generally met with disapproval in the US, even in states which formerly agreed to the practice. [6] Courts did overrule the common-law principle that a husband had the right to "physically chastise an errant wife". [8] It has been held that a man can not beat his adulterous wife, drunken, insolvent or refractory wife. Nor pull her hair, choke her, spit in her face or kick her about the floor. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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R v Hopley was an 1860 legal case in Eastbourne, Sussex, England. The case concerned the death of 15-year-old Reginald Cancellor at the hands of his teacher, Thomas Hopley. Hopley used corporal punishment with the stated intention of overcoming what he perceived as stubbornness on Cancellor's part, but instead beat the boy to death.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">School corporal punishment in the United States</span> United States corporal punishment in schools

Corporal punishment, sometimes referred to as "physical punishment" or "physical discipline", has been defined as the use of physical force, no matter how light, to cause deliberate bodily pain or discomfort in response to some undesired behavior. In schools in the United States, corporal punishment takes the form of a school teacher or administrator striking a student's buttocks with a wooden paddle.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporal punishment of minors in the United States</span> Infliction of pain or discomfort on minors as punishment

Corporal punishment of minors in the United States, meaning the infliction of physical pain or discomfort by parents or other adult guardians, including in some cases school officials, for purposes of punishing unacceptable attitude, is subject to varying legal limits, depending on the state. Minor children in the United States commonly experience some form of corporal punishment, such as spanking or paddling. Despite opposition from medical and social-services professionals, as of 2022, the spanking of children is legal in all 50 states and, as of 2014, most people still believe it is acceptable provided it does not involve implements. Corporal punishment is in the United States usually considered distinct from illegal child abuse, although the distinction can often be vague.

Battery punishment by parents of their minor children is lawful by tradition and explicitly under common law by R v Hopley [1860] 2F&F 202 :

By the law of England, a parent ... may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the child inflict moderate and reasonable corporal punishment, always, however, with this condition, that it is moderate and reasonable.

The legality of corporal punishment of children varies by country. Corporal punishment of minor children by parents or adult guardians, which is intended to cause physical pain, has been traditionally legal in nearly all countries unless explicitly outlawed. According to a 2014 estimate by Human Rights Watch, "Ninety percent of the world's children live in countries where corporal punishment and other physical violence against children is still legal". Many countries' laws provide for a defence of "reasonable chastisement" against charges of assault and other crimes for parents using corporal punishment. This defence is ultimately derived from English law. As of 2023, only three of seven G7 members including seven of the 20 G20 member states have banned the use of corporal punishment against children.

<i>Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development</i> South African legal case

Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others[2019] ZACC 34 is a decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which found that corporal punishment in the home is illegal. The court found that the common law defence of "moderate and reasonable chastisement" is unconstitutional, so that parents are no longer exempt from prosecution or conviction for assault for striking their children. The unanimous judgment was written by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and handed down on 18 September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Children (Scotland) Act 2019 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament that outlaws the use of corporal punishment on children.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lawfulness of corporal punishment". Archived from the original on 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  2. 1 2 Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Corporal Punishment". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 189.
  3. "Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, Section 24". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. William Blackstone. Commentaries on the Laws of England
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Stedman, Beirne (August 1917). "Right of Husband to Chastise Wife". The Virginia Law Register. New Series Vol.3 (4). JSTOR   1106112.
  6. "R. v Jackson [1891] 1 QB 671, (abstract)". LawTeacher.net. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  7. Calvert, R. "Criminal and civil liability in husband-wife assaults", in Violence in the family (Suzanne K. Steinmetz and Murray A. Straus, eds.), Harper & Row, New York, 1974. ISBN   0-396-06864-2 p. 89