The Solutions Summit aims to raise awareness of SDG 16.2, showcase solutions from around the world and celebrate successes so far in Pathfinding countries. This report, Ending legalised violence against children by 2030: Progress towards prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in Pathfinder countries, highlights the centrality of ending corporal punishment to achieving SDG 16.2 and related targets and for each Pathfinding country, it sets out:

• The current legal status of corporal punishment, any changes needed to achieve full prohibition, and any current opportunities for law reform;
• Whether the government has committed to achieving prohibition;
• Any prevalence data and examples of good practice;
• Relevant recommendations from UN and regional treaty monitoring bodies.

Download the report.

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Designed to encourage and support action, the report also highlights the work that remains to be done – the states where corporal punishment is not fully prohibited in any setting, the states where corporal punishment remains lawful as a sentence for crime, and the number of children worldwide that do not enjoy equal protection under the law on assault.

Finally, the report provides an update on the work of the Global Initiative, and looks forward to what is coming up in 2018.

Download the report.

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Global progress towards prohibition is accelerating: there are 53 states and 7 territories worldwide which have achieved prohibition of all corporal punishment, and many of the 55 states committed to prohibition are currently discussing draft legislation which would achieve prohibition in all settings.

For further information, see the Global Initiative’s country report for Bahrain and the Countdown to universal prohibition page.

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This intergovernmental conference celebrated accelerating progress, but more importantly, aimed to build momentum for further reform, inspiring collaboration within and between governments to build a world where respect for children’s human dignity is the norm rather than the exception. To this end, the Global Initiative prepared a special progress report describing how states can work collaboratively towards universal prohibition of violent punishment. Designed to support action, the report sets out existing regional commitments, how to use opportunities at national level to achieve prohibition, and what is required for states to move from prohibition in law to elimination of all violent punishment of children.

Ministers responsible for children’s rights in many states that have achieved prohibition addressed the Conference, sharing their experience of implementing a legal ban. Considering target 16.2 (to end all forms of violence against children) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sharon Owen from the Global Initiative said given the current rate of progress, “universal prohibition by 2030 is an entirely realistic target.” Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the independent expert who led the UN Study on Violence against Children, said “a child hit and hurt today will, by 2030, be an adult suffering the negative impact of that violent punishment” and stressed the urgency of law reform “if we are to have any hope of ending corporal punishment by 2030.”

Following the Conference, participants adopted a Resolution declaring, among other things, that:

…legal prohibition of corporal punishment of children is a critical foundation for changing social norms which accept or condone such violence and for promoting positive, non-violent relationships with children…”

Under the Resolution, participants committed to:

• work collaboratively and individually, at international, regional and national levels, to speed progress towards universal and effective legal prohibition of all violent punishment of children
• ensure that, guided by the best interests of the child, the law providing children with equal protection from assault in their homes is effectively implemented and enforced, recognising the special value of family relationships
• pursue and promote necessary and sustained other measures to achieve the elimination of violent punishment of children, including dissemination of the law banning violent punishment, support to parents and carers, promotion of positive, non-violent forms of discipline and relationships with children; public and parent education, and the establishment of safe and child sensitive counselling, reporting and complaint mechanisms
• establish a reliable data collection system and to encourage, and where appropriate commission, research to measure progress towards the elimination of violent punishment of children and towards full respect for their status as individual people and rights holders.

The Government of Malta committed to host the next High Level Global Conference in 2018.

More information:

• Conference programme
• Special progress report prepared by the Global Initiative
• Full speech by Sharon Owen, Coordinator of the Global Initiative
• Full speech by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, independent expert who led the UN Study on Violence against Children
• Full resolution adopted by Conference participants

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These facts and more are graphically illustrated in the updated leaflet “Prohibiting all corporal punishment of children in Africa: progress and delay”. The briefing lists some of the states in which governments are most resistant to reform, including those where judicial corporal punishment – caning, flogging or whipping – is lawful as a sentence for crime under state, religious and/or traditional systems of justice. It summarises research which shows the appalling levels of punitive violence experienced by children in Africa. Designed to encourage urgent action, the briefing emphasises immediate opportunities for prohibiting corporal punishment in around 43 African states.

Download the briefing here (available in English and French).

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Designed for advocacy use, the briefing highlights the human rights imperative to prohibit all violent punishment of children in all Caribbean states and territories. For each Caribbean state and territory, it summarises the progress made towards prohibition and what remains to be done. Aiming to promote national action for prohibition, it emphasises the many immediate opportunities for working to fulfil children’s right to protection in law from all corporal punishment in the penal system, care settings, schools and the family home.

Download the briefing here. To request hard copies, contact us at info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

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More than half of all UN member states have now prohibited corporal punishment in all settings, including the home, or have committed to doing so. The adoption of the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including target 16.2 to end all forms of violence against children, requires renewed attention to accelerate progress towards universal prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment.

Designed to support advocacy, this new briefing provides up to date facts and figures to support efforts to ensure states meet their obligations under international human rights law to protect children from corporal punishment in law and in practice. It identifies the now 48 states where prohibition has been achieved and the 53 where governments are publicly committed to law reform, as well as the 36 states where corporal punishment is lawful as a sentence of the courts and the 21 where it has not yet been fully prohibited in any setting of children’s lives. Other information is graphically presented in this handy A5 leaflet.

The briefing is available for download here. A limited number of hard copies is available, email info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

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This new briefing from the Global Initiative summarises progress to date towards prohibiting corporal punishment in ASEAN member states, identifies the law reform necessary in each state to achieve full prohibition and the current opportunities for doing so. It has been prepared for circulation at two high profile meetings being held this month in the Philippines – the Regional Consultation on the Elimination of Violence against Children and Improved Public Investment on Children on 15-16 October, organised by Child Rights Coalition Asia, and the 11^th meeting of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), 18-20 October.

The adoption globally of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its target of ending all violence against children provides a new and immediate context for focussing attention in all regions on what can be done to speed progress towards fulfilling this most fundamental obligation under human rights law.

The briefing is available for download here.

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This briefing, published jointly by the Global Initiative, UNICEF and Save the Children, graphically illustrates the progress made to date in the region, and sets out what needs to be done in those states that have yet to achieve law reform. Crucially, it identifies immediate opportunities for drafting and introducing prohibiting legislation.

“Our societies and legal systems do not tolerate violence as a way of interpersonal interaction or conflict resolution among adults. Children are not second-class citizens; on the contrary, they deserve special protection from their family, society and the state. States must send a clear message by urgently prohibiting all forms of violence against children, including violence disguised as discipline.” (Rosa Maria Ortiz, Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights)

The briefing – in English and Spanish – is being distributed at the 6th World Congress on School Violence and Public Policies in Lima, Peru, May 2015. It is available here (in English and Spanish).

A limited number of hard copies is available for advocacy purposes, email info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

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Moving swiftly from discussion to action is key. National attention to corporal punishment (e.g. through government consultations, new research, media reports, etc) can be used to promote prohibition: proposals for law reform must be made and followed through. But it is not necessary to consult on the issue, nor is it justifiable to wait for public attitudes to change before reforming the law. Children have an immediate right to protection.

The briefing is to be launched at the Pacific Islands Countries Conference on Violence against Children, Fiji, 18-20 May 2015.

The leaflet is available here.

A limited number of hard copies is available for advocacy purposes, email info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

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