Wales on Monday bans any physical punishment for children which includes any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking.
The “smacking ban”, as it was known, was brought in under the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 and marks the end of the common law defence of “reasonable punishment”.
It means children will get the same protection from assault as adults, and that the law will apply to everyone, even those visiting Wales as was the case with all Welsh laws.
Parents or anyone who is 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.
Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh Government has insisted the move was about protecting children’s rights.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said, “The United Nations 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.”
Wales joins more than 60 nations worldwide in legislating against the physical punishment of children.
Scotland introduced its own ban in November 2020. (dpa/NAN)