Spare The Rod

Experts explain what the new ruling on corporal punishment means for you and your family.

- Lesego Maja

ON SOCIAL media, around the office water cooler, at the school gates, on radio talk shows – it’s all many of us have been talking about recently. The decision by the Constitutional Court to make it illegal for parents to discipline their children by smacking them has divided South Africans.

Some have praised the ruling, saying it’s long overdue, but many others believe it’s a move that’s going to “destroy families”.

How on earth are parents going to be able to set limits and boundaries, they ask. Are they just meant to sit back and let their kids run wild?

It’s been the tried-and-trusted method used by parents for generations. When talking, threats and time-outs have all failed to yield results, sometimes a spanking is the only answer, many people say.

But with its landmark judgment the highest court in the land has sent a stern warning to parents: if you lift a finger to your child, you could be in big trouble.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR FAMILIES

In a nutshell: if you hit, smack, spank or use any form of physical force against your child, you could face the full weight of the law.

Constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos says the judgment means that parents are no longer permitted to use moderate corporal punishment on their kids.

“Parents must find other ways to discipline their children. If they do use corporal punishment, they now run the risk of being prosecuted and punished for assaulting their children,” he says.

While corporal punishment has been banned in schools since 2000 it was still permitted in homes. But the issue came under the spotlight in 2017 when a case went before the high court in Johannesburg.