Scottish Friends welcome smacking ban
Quakers in Scotland have welcomed the news that Scotland has made it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children
Quakers in Scotland are celebrating the news that Scotland has become the first country in the UK to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. Eighty-four MSPs voted in favour of banning outright the physical punishment of children in Scotland, after the Members’ Bill was lodged by the Scottish Green Party MSP John Finnie and supported by the Scottish National Party government.
Mairi Campbell-Jack, Scottish parliamentary engagement officer for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), called for more resources to be put into place as ‘violence never happens in a vacuum’. She tweeted: ‘Smacking isn’t the only issue children face, and resources need to be put into communities to help make children safe.’
This point was underlined when Quakers’ General Meeting for Scotland made a submission in March to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee about the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill. It said: ‘Quakers believe that nonviolence is something that needs… practice throughout a lifetime, and that the grounding for a nonviolent life starts in childhood. We therefore welcome this positive move towards Scotland becoming a more nonviolent nation. However, we also feel that a law alone is not enough, and that to create lasting cultural change education, training, support and compassion needs to be offered to those who struggle to meet the requirements of the Bill.’
Arguing in the final stages of the debate, MSP John Finnie highlighted the damage which smacking is proven to do to children’s long-term mental health. The Bill removes the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ which exists in English law. Fifty-seven other counties already prohibit the physical punishment of children.
In the submission, Friends said: ‘One can be violent towards a child through pinching, arm or ear twisting, swearing, aggressive gestures, overly harsh criticism, threats, public humiliation, the silent treatment or withholding of affection.’
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