Smacking children ‘all in the past’ as Wales enforces ban

Wales has banned parents from smacking their children, as a poll in England found that more than two-thirds of adults agree that physical punishment is wrong.

The "smacking ban," as it is known, has outlawed any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking in Wales. This move gives children the same protection from assault as adults.

The change in law came as a YouGov poll commissioned by the NSPCC found that of 3,000 adults 68 per cent believe that physically disciplining a child is unacceptable. The poll revealed that the English public is also largely in agreement with changing the law on the issue, with 64 per cent stating that the law should be changed.

The Welsh law marks the end of the common law defence of "reasonable punishment" and, as is the case with all Welsh laws, will apply to everyone, even those visiting Wales. Parents - or anyone responsible for a child while the parents are absent - can now face criminal or civil charges if they are found to have physically disciplined a young person in any way.

Last year Childline delivered more than five hundred counselling sessions, where children and young people reported being smacked or hit by parents and carers, the NSPCC said.

Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh Government has insisted the move is about protecting children's rights. Wales's first minister, Mark Drakeford, said: "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children have the right to be protected from harm and from being hurt and this includes physical punishment. That right is now enshrined in Welsh law. No more grey areas. No more 'defence of reasonable punishment.' That is all in the past."

PM Law
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