Progress Towards Ending Corporal Punishment of Children

Corporal punishment is the most common form of violence against children worldwide. It includes any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light, as well as non-physical forms of punishment that are cruel and degrading.

Corporal punishment is not only a violation of children’s right to protection from harm – the evidence base continues to grow confirming the serious impact of violent punishment on societies. Children who experience corporal punishment are more likely to display aggression, to engage in peer violence as teenagers, and to grow up to be either perpetrators or victims of intimate partner violence. 

Ending corporal punishment of children is truly a critical factor in achieving sustainable development, and we need to see it prioritised now that we have just one decade left to meet the objectives in the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children works as a catalyst promoting progress towards universal prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment of children.

Read the Global Progress Report for 2019