{"id":1944,"date":"2017-11-04T09:01:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T09:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.endcorporalpunishment.net\/?page_id=1944"},"modified":"2021-08-17T22:39:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T21:39:01","slug":"colombia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/reports-on-every-state-and-territory\/colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n            <div class=\"separator- glacier-section\"  id=\"section-69d798f9acf5b\">\n            <div class=\"container\">\n                <section>\n                    \n<div class=\"row\">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 col-md-3\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/reports-on-every-state-and-territory\/colombia-es\/\" target=\"_self\" style=\"border-radius: 100px;\" class=\"btn btn-default  \">\n     Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>\n\n<div class=\"feature-box text-center media-box \">\n    <div class=\"fbox-media\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-no-retina src=\"\/\/www.endcorporalpunishment.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/flag-antigua.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"\" height=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" \/>\n        \t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"fbox-desc\">\n        <h2><\/h2>\n        <span class=\"subtitle\"><\/span>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12 col-md-9\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t\n<div class=\"heading-block text-left heading-block-line\">\n\t<h2 class=\"special-heading\" >Country Report for Colombia<\/h2>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"text-block shortcode-container\" >\n\t<p>LAST UPDATED: August 2021<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"row\">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t\n<div class=\"vertical\">    <ul class=\"nav nav-tabs\" role=\"tablist\">\n                    <li class=\"active\"><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f9adfd30\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Summary<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f9adfd31\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Legality <\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f9adfd32\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> UPR<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f9adfd33\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Treaty bodies<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f9adfd34\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Research<\/a><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n\n    <div class=\"tab-content\">\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane active\" id=\"tabs-69d798f9adfd30\">\n                <h3>Summary of necessary legal reform to achieve full prohibition<\/h3><p>Law reform has been achieved. Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f9adfd31\">\n                <h3>Home<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home under article 1 of the Law \u201cprohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents\u201d (unofficial translation). In April 2021, the Colombian Congress passed a Bill (Law 2089 of 14 May 2021), to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings and amend both the Civil Code 1873 and the Children and Adolescents Code 2006.<\/p><p>Article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents states: \u201cParents or individuals who exercise parental authority over children and adolescents have the right to educate, raise and correct their children according to their beliefs and values. The only limit is the prohibition to use physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents. The prohibition extends to any other person responsible for their care, in each of the different environments where childhood and adolescence unfold.\u201d (unofficial translation)<\/p><p>Physical punishment is defined as an \u201caction that takes place in the context of parenting, providing guidance or education, where physical force is used with the intention to cause physical pain, provided that this action does not constitute punishable conduct of abuse or domestic violence.\u201d Humiliating punishment is defined as \u201cany action that hurts the dignity of the child or adolescent or cruelly belittles, denigrates, degrades, stigmatizes or threatens them, provided that it does not constitute punishable conduct. It will not be grounds for losing parental authority or custody, nor grounds for emancipation processes, as long as it is not repetitive behavior, and the mental or physical health of the child or adolescent is not affected\u201d. (article 2) (unofficial translation)<\/p><p>Article 3 of the new law amends article 262 of the Civil Code 1873 on \u201cNon-violent supervision, correction and punishment\u201d as follows: \u201cChildren and adolescents\u2019 families, parents, caregivers, or their legal guardians will have the power to supervise their behaviour, correct them and sanction them.<\/p><p>The use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence as a method of correction, sanction or discipline is prohibited.\u201d (unofficial translation)<\/p><p>The Law introduces a new article 18-A to the Children and Adolescents Code 2006 on the \u201cRight to be well treated\u201d as follows: \u201cChildren and adolescents have the right to be well treated, to receive guidance, education, care and discipline through non-violent methods. This right includes the protection of their physical, psychological and emotional integrity, in the context of the rights of their parents or whoever exercises parental authority or their caregiver, to raise and educate them according to their values \u200b\u200band beliefs.\u00a0<\/p><p>Paragraph: Under no circumstances will physical punishment be admitted as a form of correction or discipline.\u201d (unofficial translation).<\/p><p>Prior to this reform article 262 of the Civil Code 1883 (as amended 1974), confirmed the right of parents and other carers to \u201ccorrect\u201d children and \u201csanction them moderately\u201d. Article 39(9) of the Children and Adolescents Code put an obligation on families to \u201crefrain from any act or conduct involving physical, sexual or psychological maltreatment\u201d but it did not clearly prohibit all corporal punishment.<\/p><p>The new law will also apply to children and adolescents in indigenous communities. Although article 3(2) of the Children and Adolescents Code 2006 gives indigenous peoples the ability to exercise their rights based on \u201ctheir own standards\u201d, article 1 of the prohibiting law specifically provides that parents or individuals\u2019 right to \u201cexercise parental authority over children and adolescents according to their beliefs and values\u201d is limited by \u201cthe prohibition to use physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents\u201d. Previously, indigenous children seemed to have less legal protection from corporal punishment than other children. In a 2012 judgment, the Constitutional Court confirmed that the Constitutional superiority of the rights of children must be interpreted in relation to indigenous communities in the context of each case.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> A previous case law also established that physical punishment in indigenous communities which is not considered to be torture or to be degrading punishment did not violate the Constitution.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/p><p>Article 5 requires the National Government, through its relevant departments, to implement a National Pedagogical and Prevention Strategy within six months after the effective date of the law, promoting the elimination of physical punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment against children and adolescents. The National Pedagogical and Prevention Strategy will promote the participation of parents to identify and illustrate non-violent education, guidance and disciplinary alternatives and practices.<\/p><p>Colombia is a Pathfinder country with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, which was established in 2016. This commits the Government to three to five years of accelerated action towards the achievement of Target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Alternative care settings<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful under article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents. The law provides that \u201cprohibition extends to any other person responsible for their care, in each of the different environments where childhood and adolescence unfold.\u201d (unofficial translation) (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Day care<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful under article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents. In addition to parents, the law applies to any other person responsible for the care of children and adolescents in all settings. (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Schools<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful in schools under article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents. \u00a0In addition to parents, the law applies to any other person responsible for the care of children and adolescents in all settings. (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><h3>Penal institutions<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful under article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents. (see under \u201cHome\u201d). The prohibiting law applies \u201cto any other person responsible for [their] care, in each of the different environments where childhood and adolescence unfold.\u201d (unofficial translation).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Sentence for crime<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime under article 1 of the Law prohibiting the use of physical punishment, cruel, humiliating, or degrading treatment and any type of violence against children and adolescents as a method of correction against children and adolescents. The law provides that \u201cany other person responsible for [their] care, in each of the different environments where childhood and adolescence unfold.\u201d (unofficial translation) (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime concerning children in indigenous communities (see under \u201cHome\u201d). Previously, article 156 of the Children and Adolescents Code 2006 provided that they would be \u201cjudged according to the rules and procedures in their own communities as indigenous special legislation in Article 246 of the Constitution, international treaties on human rights ratified by Colombia and the law. Provided that the penalty imposed is not contrary to their dignity, nor allows him\/her to be subjected to abuse\u2026.\u201d (unofficial translation).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Sentence T-002\/12<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Sentence T-523\/97<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f9adfd32\">\n                <h3>Universal Periodic Review of Colombia\u2019s human rights record<\/h3><p>Colombia was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2008 (session 3). No recommendations were made specifically concerning corporal punishment of children. However, the following recommendation was made and was accepted by the Government:<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cEnsure the full protection of children\u2019s rights, in particular of children who are victims of the internal armed conflict, and adequately address all situations of violence against women (Romania)\u201d<\/p><p>The second cycle review took place in 2013 (session 16). No recommendations were made specifically on corporal punishment of children. However, the following recommendations were made and were accepted by the Government:<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cEnhance the protection for children, including by improving the investigation, prosecution and prevention of violence against children (Cyprus);<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cStrengthen its efforts in the fight to eliminate violence against women and children (Senegal);<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cContinue to work constructively to implement the laws, decrees and resolutions that have been approved to combat violence against women and girls and to guarantee access to justice for victims of sexual violence (Canada)\u201d<\/p><p>Third cycle examination took place in 2018 (session 30). The Government noted the following recommendations:<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cProhibit corporal punishment in all settings (Namibia)\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cProhibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including at home (Montenegro)\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> 9 January 2009, A\/HRC\/10\/82, Report of the working group, para. 87(16)<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> 4 July 2013, A\/HRC\/24\/6, Report of the working group, paras. 116(48), 116(53) and 116(56)<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> 9 July 2018, A\/HRC\/39\/6, Report of the Working Group, paras. 121(24) and 121(26)<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f9adfd33\">\n                <h3>Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies<\/h3><h3><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/em><\/h3><p>(4 February 2015, CRC\/C\/COL\/CO\/4-5 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on fourth\/fifth report, paras. 27 and 28)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee is deeply concerned at the high levels of violence which children are confronted with and in particular about: ...<\/p><p>d) reports that corporal punishment remains widespread and that it is not yet explicitly prohibited in all settings, including in the home....<\/p><p>\u201cIn the light of its general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence and recalling the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children of 2006 (A\/61\/299), the Committee urges the State party to prioritize the elimination of all forms of violence against children, and in particular to: ...<\/p><p>e) repeal the Article 262 of the Civil Code on the \u2018right of correction\u2019, ensure that its legislation explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in all settings, including for indigenous children, and raise awareness on positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing....\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/em><\/p><p>(8 June 2006, CRC\/C\/COL\/CO\/3, Concluding observations on third report, paras. 61 and 62)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee regrets the lack of statistics on the number of reported cases and is concerned that corporal punishment continues to occur in the school, the home and in institutions.<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee recommends that the State party enforce legislation explicitly prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home. The State party should also conduct awareness-raising and public education campaigns against corporal punishment and promote non-violent, participatory methods of childrearing and education, while taking due account of the general comment No. 8 of the Committee on the Right of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or Degrading Forms of Punishment (2006).\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3><em>Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities<\/em><\/h3><p>(30 September 2016, CRPD\/C\/COL\/CO\/1, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 18 and 19)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee is concerned about the limited information available on the situation of children with disabilities, mainly those who have been institutionalized or who are living in poverty or in rural or remote areas, and about the steps taken to protect their rights and facilitate their remaining with or return to their families or foster families. It is also concerned about the lack of a ban on corporal punishment of children with disabilities.<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee urges the State party to more systematically gather data on children with disabilities and to take steps to prevent their abandonment, abuse and institutionalization. It encourages the State party to adopt a plan on the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities, including those who are institutionalized on the basis of protection measures ordered by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, and to provide community-based services and support to families, especially households headed by single mothers, in order to ensure the right of children with disabilities to grow up in a family environment and the right to have a family life. The Committee recommends that the State party repeal the provision in the Civil Code that authorizes adult childminders to correct and discipline children moderately and that it ban corporal punishment in any environment, including within the family and within indigenous and remote communities.\u201d\u201d<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f9adfd34\">\n                <h3>Prevalence\/attitudinal research in the last ten years<\/h3><p>An evaluation of parent and caregiver support in conflict settings, conducted in 2012-2014 with 176 parents of 3-4 year olds attending child centres, found that violence against children was still common. Over 99% of caregivers in Choc\u00f3 reported having used physical violence to discipline children. However, six months after the parenting programme was complete, violence against children decreased by 41% and mental health difficulties in parents and carers reduced from 22% to 5%. The study found that in conflict settings with extreme levels of poverty, unemployment, crime and violence, parent and caregiver support can play a crucial role in reducing physical punishment of children.<\/p><p>(The Evaluation Fund (2014), <em>Reducing Violence Against Children: Parent and Caregiver Support in Conflict Settings<\/em>, Colombia: The Evaluation Fund)<\/p><p>The first study examining national and regional prevalence and trends of corporal punishment in Colombia, particularly of spanking and hitting with objects, found that 40% of Colombian children younger than five (about 1.7 million children) are exposed to physical punishment. Specifically, 23.8% (more than 1 million children) are hit with objects and 20.4% (887,000) are spanked. It also found a higher proportion of children living in multi-dimensionally poor households and in rural areas were hit with objects than those living in non-poor households and in urban areas, but that overall, physical punishment has steadily declined throughout the country between 2005 and 2015.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Cuartas, J. (2018) \u201cPhysical punishment against the early childhood in Colombia: National and regional prevalence, sociodemographic gaps, and ten-year trends\u201d 93 <em>Children and Youth Services Review<\/em> 428\u2013440)<\/p><p>A study using a sample of 1,209 children from four major cities of Colombia (Bogot\u00e1, Medell\u00edn, Cali and Barranquilla) found that around half of children were spanked and one third were hit with objects as a disciplinary method in 2010. Results indicate that exposure to\u00a0violent crimes, such as\u00a0homicides and personal injuries, predicts a higher\u00a0probability\u00a0of hitting children with objects, even after controlling for a set of individual, family, and\u00a0neighborhood characteristics.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Cuartas, J. (2018) \u201cNeighborhood crime undermines parenting: Violence in the vicinity of households as a predictor of aggressive discipline\u201d (76) <em>Child Abuse &amp; Neglect<\/em> 388\u2013399)<\/p><p>A study using reports of 620 parents of children aged 5 to 8 years from eight public schools from a rural area north of Bogot\u00e1 found that two-fifths (41%) of children were exposed to physical punishment as a disciplinary strategy. Family structure was found to be an important variable in the understanding of corporal punishment, especially in regard to nuclear families that have a large number of children and parents who started their parental role early in life.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Gonz\u00e1lez, M. R., Trujillo, A., &amp; Pereda, N. (2014) \u201cCorporal punishment in rural Colombian families: Prevalence, family structure and socio-demographic variables\u201d 38(5) <em>Child Abuse &amp; Neglect<\/em> 909\u2013916)<\/p><p>A study of the relationship between gender and physical punishment in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the US, which used interviews with around 4,000 mothers, fathers and children aged 7-10, found that in Colombia 68% of girls and 63% of boys had experienced \u201cmild\u201d corporal punishment (spanking, hitting, or slapping with a bare hand; hitting or slapping on the hand, arm, or leg; shaking, or hitting with an object), and 15% of girls and 4% of boys severe corporal punishment (hitting or slapping the child on the face, head, or ears or beating the child repeatedly with an implement) by someone in their household in the past month. Smaller percentages of parents believed it was necessary to use corporal punishment to bring up their child: for girls, 14% of mothers and 13% of fathers believed it was necessary; for boys, 19% of mothers and 8% of fathers.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Lansford, J. et al (2010), \u201cCorporal Punishment of Children in Nine Countries as a Function of Child Gender and Parent Gender\u201d, <em>International Journal of Pediatrics<\/em>)<\/p><p>A qualitative research study about children\u2019s ideas, attitudes and feelings about punishment found that parents punish their children by hitting them with objects, spanking them, scolding them, forbidding them things they like and not allowing them to leave their bedrooms. Children said they felt bad, bored, guilty, angry and confused when they were punished. They suggested that instead of hitting or humiliating them, parents should talk to them about their behaviour. The study was carried out in 2006 and involved eight girls and five boys from Bogot\u00e1.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Duque-P\u00e1ramo, M. C. (2008), \u201cNo me gusta, pero est\u00e1 bien si me porto mal\u201d, <em>Investigaci\u00f3n en Enfermer\u00eda: Imagen y Desarrollo, <\/em>10(1), 113-134, Bogot\u00e1)<\/p>            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n                <\/section>\n            <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leer en espa\u00f1ol Country Report for Colombia LAST UPDATED: August 2021 Summary Legality UPR Treaty bodies Research Summary of necessary legal reform to achieve full prohibitionLaw reform has been achieved. Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home. HomeCorporal punishment is prohibited in the home under article 1 of the Law \u201cprohibiting the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1301,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1944","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1944"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21792,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1944\/revisions\/21792"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}