Rights activists join CoE in calling for ban on corporal punishment

While the Turkish agenda is occupied with egregious attacks and abuses against children, the Council of Europe has called on its members, including Turkey, to revise their policies regarding corporal punishment.

Turkey has recently been rocked by one revelation after another of children who are victims of violence, rape, incest and prostitution.

Noting that the prevalence of such serious problems may cause people to consider championing legislation against corporal punishment an unnecessary waste of time, Öztürk Türkdoğan, the chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD), said this approach was wrong.

“The dominant culture of violence in our society is rooted in domestic violence. Corporal punishment of children starts with the mentality of ‘educating children’ but brings about the legitimization of violence,” he told Today’s Zaman.

Emrah Kırımsoy from the children’s rights group Agenda: Child! pointed out that children in Turkey face violence everywhere -- at home, at school and on the street -- but corporal punishment is the least discussed form.

Both Öztürk and Kırımsoy recalled that prior to the amendment of the civil code in 2005, corporal punishment was justified and smacking children lightly and pulling their ears were considered methods of “educating children.” They underlined, however, that the Turkish legal system still contains no provisions openly indicating that corporal punishment is forbidden.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg recalled in a recent article that 31 years ago Sweden banned corporal punishment and became the first country to forbid all forms of violence against children, including at home. He noted that many Council of Europe member states had followed Sweden’s example.

“Yet, after years of discussion, legislation, education on the subject and research showing the damaging effects of corporal punishment, it is still seen in many places as perfectly normal to hit a child,” he underlined.

Pointing out that research shows that children who are spanked more frequently at age 3 are more likely to be aggressive by age 5, the commissioner said we should not teach children that it is acceptable to resolve disagreements with violence.

He noted that children being hit by someone they depend on violates human rights and harms the child mentally in addition to being illogical and inconsistent.

“Corporal punishment is humiliating and represents an attack on the self esteem and self confidence of children. It demonstrates disrespect for their human dignity and teaches them that violence is an appropriate way to resolve a conflict,” he wrote.

Commissioner Hammarberg added that the Swedish experience has shown that a law against corporal punishment can change people’s behavior.  He pointed out that children themselves must also be aware of their rights and schools have an important role to play in this.

Agreeing with the commissioner, Türkdoğan noted that the Turkish education system itself has a tendency to legitimize violence. He said a national campaign should be launched to train teachers in order to reverse this tendency.

Kırımsoy underlined that openly banning corporal punishment by law is not sufficient to cope with the problem, arguing that what is needed is a change in mentality.

“We need an educational campaign that will lead to the transformation of this mentality. Violence and its legitimization start from home, and when we hear stories like we’ve been hearing recently, we look at each other and ask the question, ‘Who is responsible for this?’ We all are, and realizing this starts with realizing the harms of corporal punishment,” Kırımsoy told Today’s Zaman.