British Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi rejected the call for a ban on slapping children, arguing that the state should not “sick” people about how to raise children.
Earlier, Mrs. Rachel de Souza, a British children’s commissioner, told Times Radio that she was “supportive” if the government decided to follow Scotland and Wales in banning corporal punishment in Britain. ..
But Zahwi said he didn’t believe the state should “sick” parents about how to raise their children.
“My very strong view is that you really have to trust your parents about this. Being able to discipline your child should be what they have the right to do,” the minister said. I told Times Radio.
He added that there was a “very big difference” between “tapping the arm” and child abuse.
“We need to make sure we don’t end up in a world where the state is worried about how to raise children.”
He said he had never hit his 9-year-old daughter, but her mother had “sometimes” when the child was playing a prank.
Children’s smacking is banned in Scotland and Wales, and de Souza suggested that England should follow.
Last month, Wales abolished the common law defense of “reasonable punishment,” with all sorts of corporal punishment, including illegal, beating, beating, beating, and shaking in the region.
A person who is responsible for the child while the parents or parents are absent may face criminal or civil liability if it turns out that they are physically disciplining the young person in some way.
The Labor Party administration in Wales argued that the legislative changes were about protecting children’s rights, and Labor leader Sir Kiel Starmer said the move should be reflected in England and Northern Ireland. , Called it “the right thing”.
But critics said it would criminalize parents who discipline their children.
When Scotland introduced the ban in November 2020, the region’s children’s minister, Marie Todd, said, “We guarantee that children are, without exception, protected from assault as adults.”
However, Be Reasonable Scotland, a campaign group that opposed the bill, warned that “even the mildest corporal punishment would be treated as abuse” and that parents could be prosecuted.
A spokesman for this group said, “For the next few years, affectionate parents who have no contact with the authorities and pose no risk to their children will have stressful interventions, blacklisting in police databases, and even criminal records. You will even face it. “
“The majority of Scottish people see this as fraud, not a positive change,” he said.
PA Media contributed to this report.
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