Corporal punishment

-- I have argued against this proposed merger - see discussion page. -- Colin Farrell (of www.corpun.com) 62.205.117.22 12:24, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain intended as correction or punishment. Historically speaking most punishments, whether in judicial, domestic or educational settings were corporal in basis. The practice is generally held to differ from torture in that it is applied for disciplinary reasons and is therefore intended to be limited, rather than intended to totally destroy the will of the victim. The physical and psychological effects of certain severe or prolonged forms of corporal punishment are more or less indistinguishable from those of torture.

In the modern world, the corporal punishment has been largely rejected in favour of other disciplinary methods. Modern judiciaries often favour fines or incarceration, whilst modern school discipline avoids physical coercion. Although corporal punishment is still used in many domestic settings it has been banned in seventeen countries.

Corporal punishment in history

Whilst the early history of corporal punishment is unclear, the practice was certainly present in classical civilisations, being used in Greece, Rome, Egypt and Israel, used for both judicial and educational discipline. Practices varied greatly, though scourging and beating with sticks were both common. Some states gained a reputation for using such punishments cruelly; Sparta, in particular, used frequent and heavy punishment as part of a disciplinary regime designed to build willpower and bodily strength. Although the Spartan example was unusual, corporal punishment was possibly the most common type of minor punishment.

These approaches to corporal punishment were continued into Medieval Europe. This was encouraged by attitudes of the medieval church towards the human body, with flagellation being a common means of encouraging self-discipline. In particular this had an influence on corporal punishment in schools as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. Nevertheless, corporal punishment was not used uncritically; as early as the eleventh century St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking out against what was seen as the cruel treatment of children.

From the sixteenth century onwards, new trends were seen in corporal punishment. Judicial punishments were increasingly made into public spectacles, with the heavy public beatings of criminals intended as a deterrent to others. Meanwhile, early writers on education, such as Roger Ascham, frequently complained of the arbitrary manner in which children were punished. Probably the most influential writer on the subject was the English philosopher John Locke, whose Some Thoughts Concerning Education explicitly criticised the manner in which corporal punishment was central to education. Locke's work was highly influential and when Poland banned corporal punishment from its schools in 1783, Some Thoughts Concerning Education was said to have influenced the legislators.

During the eighteenth century the frequent use of corporal punishment was heavily criticised, both by philosophers and legal reformers. Merely inflicting pain on miscreants was seen as inefficient, influencing the subject merely for a short period of time and effecting no permanent change in their behaviour. Critics believed that the purpose of punishment should be reformation, not retribution. This is perhaps best expressed in Jeremy Bentham's idea of a panoptic prison, in which prisoners were controlled and surveyed at all times. A perceived advantage of such systems was that they reduced the need of measures such as corporal punishment.

A consequence of this mode of thinking was a diminution of corporal punishment throughout the nineteenth century in Europe and North America.

Corporal punishment proved most persistent as a punishment for violation of prison rules, as a military field punishment, and in schools. Examples of corporal punishment from the Enlightenment onwards have tended to emphasise the administration of a set amount of pain by measurable procedures.

Modern usage

In the modern world, corporal punishment remains a common way of disciplining children. Although it has been outlawed in some European countries, most legal systems permit parents to discipline their children however they see fit, implying a distinction between reasonable punishment and abuse.

In terms of punishment in judicial and educational settings, approaches vary throughout the world. The practice has, for instance, been almost completely abandoned in Europe and North America, whilst other societies retain widespread use of judicial corporal punishment, including Malaysia and Singapore. In Singapore, male violent offenders and rapists are typically sentenced to caning in addition to a prison term. The Singaporean practice of caning became much discussed in the U.S. in 1994 when American teenager Michael P. Fay was sentenced to such punishment for an offence of car vandalism.

Corporal punishment is also dictated as a punishment in traditional Islamic Sharia law, and applied in countries like Saudi Arabia.

Corporal punishment of children

Opinions on corporal punishment of children are varied. Whilst the practice is accepted and embraced in many countries, it is also illegal in a number of others. There is pressure in some countries, such as the United Kingdom to have any form of corporal punishment of children made illegal and treated as child abuse. Australia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Latvia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Germany, Israel, Iceland, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary have banned the corporal punishment of children entirely. In some states of the USA, paddling of children is still allowed. Recently in the US the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has proposed a bill banning all forms of corporal punishment of persons under 18.

Many educators use a milder form of corporal punishment called "spanking", usually slapping the child's buttocks with the palm of their hand; alternatively, they may administer a single smack on the hand with their own hand. Others punish their children with a switch, belt, or a paddle, although this practice is less common than in years past.

Although China and Taiwan have made corporal punishment against children illegal in the school system, it is still widely practiced. In most part of Confucian East Asia (including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea), it is legal to punish one's own child using physical means. In Singapore and Hong Kong, punishing one's own child with corporal punishment is still either legal, only discouraged, or illegal but without active enforcement of the relevant laws. Culturally, people in the region generally believe a minimal amount of corporal punishment for their own children is appropriate and necessary, and thus such practice is tolerated by the society as a whole.

There is resistance, particularly from conservatives, against making the corporal punishment of children by their parents or guardians illegal. In 2004, the United States declined to become a signatory of the United Nations's "Rights of the Child" because of its sanctions on parental discipline, citing the tradition of parental authority in that country and of privacy in family decision-making.

Most countries have banned the use of corporal punishment in schools, beginning with Poland in 1783. The practice is still used in schools in some parts of the United States (approximately 1/2 the states but varying by school district within them), though it is banned in others.

Arguments for and against

Some argue that corporal punishment is a quick and effective method and less cruel than long-term incarceration; adherents to this viewpoint think that corporal punishment should be re-considered in countries that have banned it as an alternative to imprisonment; some even want corporal punishment to replace fines for such minor offences as graffiti.

The purported advantages of this approach include easier reintegration in society ( generally, physical wounds heal quickly, while prison may adversely affect relationships and job prospects), greater deterrence rates, less recidivism, and fewer costs to society. Proponents of corporal punishment also invoke arguments of authority such as those found in a literal reading of the bible or simply 'traditional means to defend traditional values'.

Since the late 20th century, with an increased interest in human rights, populations of some developed countries are moving towards considering judicial corporal punishment barbaric, and usually associate such punishment with dictatorships, police states, and fundamentalist regimes.

Proponents of the corporal punishment of children, whilst accepting that excessive physical punishment amounts to child abuse, argue that corporal punishment, properly administered, can be the most effective form of discipline for unruly children and adolescents. Polls consistently show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that corporal punishment is sometimes necessary. Without recourse to milder forms of physical punishment, parents may use forms of emotional violence that are actually more abusive.

Opponents argue that any form of violence is by definition abusive. Some psychology research indicates that corporal punishment causes the destruction of trust bonds between parents and children. Children subjected to corporal punishment may grow resentful, shy, insecure, or violent. Some researchers have shown that corporal punishment actually works against its objective (normally obedience), since children will not voluntarily obey an adult they do not trust. A child who is physically punished may have to be punished more often than a child who is not. However, anti-spanking researcher Elizabeth Gershoff disagreed with this view in a 2002 study, reporting that use of corporal punishment had a positive correlation with compliance in children (while maintaining that the research reinforced the other anti-spanking arguments.)

Corporal punishment, fetishism, and BDSM

Corporal punishment is sometimes fetishized, and is the basis of a number of paraphilias, most notably erotic spanking. Pervertibles are various objects than can be used as punitive implement (mainly in BDSM or the private sphere, open to improvization). The techniques and rituals of corporal punishment are often included in BDSM activities; see impact play.

Ritual and punishment

Corporal punishment in formal settings, such as schools and prisons, is often highly ritualised, sometimes even staged in a highly theatrical manner. To a great extent the spectacle of punishment is intended to act as a deterrent to others and a theatrical approach is one result of this.

One consequence of the ritualised nature of much punishment has been the development of a wide variety of equipment used. Formal punishment often begins with the victim stripped of some or all of their clothing and secured to a piece of furniture, such as a trestle, frame, punishment horse or falaka. A variety of implements are then used to inflict blows on the victim. The terms used to describe these are not fixed, varying by country and by context. There are, however, a number of common types which are frequently encountered when reading about corporal punishment. These are:

• The bastinado.
• Rods, varying in size and flexibility. A thin, flexible rod is often called a switch.
• The Birch, a number of strong, flexible branches, bound together in their natural state.
• Bamboo canes of various types, most notably durable species of rottan, known as the rattan.
• The Paddle, a flat wooden or leather pad with a handle is commonly used for corporal punishment in America.
• Straps of various types, occasionally with a number of tails at one end. In Scotland and northern England, this is known as a tawse.
• Whips are common in judicial punishment and prison discipline, with varieties including the famous Russian knout and South African sjambok, in addition to the scourge and martinet.
• The cat o' nine tails was a popular implement used in naval discipline.

In some instances the victim of punishment were required to prepare the implement which will be used upon them. For instance, sailors were employed in preparing the cat o' nine tails which would be used upon their own back, whilst children were sent to cut a switch or rod.

In contrast, informal punishments, particularly in domestic settings, tend to lack this ritual nature and are often administered with whatever object comes to hand. It is common, for instance, for belts, wooden spoons, slippers or hairbrushes to be used in domestic punishment, whilst rulers and other classroom equipment have been used in schools.

Administration of punishment

In formal punishment medical supervision is often considered necessary to assess whether the target of punishment is in a fit condition to be beaten and to oversee the punishment to prevent serious injury from occuring. The role of the medical officer was particularly important in the nineteenth century, a time in which severe punishment was common, but growing public criticism of the practice encouraged medical regulation.

Corporal punishment can be directed at a number of different anatomical targets, the choice depending on a number of factors. The humiliation and pain of a particular punishment have always been primary concerns, but convenience and custom are also factors. There is an additional concern in the modern world about the permanent harm that can result from punishment, though this was rarely a factor before the nineteenth century. The intention of corporal punishment is to discipline an individual with the infliction of a measure of pain, and permanent injury is considered counterproductive.

• Most commonly, corporal punishment is directed at the buttocks, with some languages having a specific word for their chastisement. For example, the French call this fessée, the Spanish nalgada. The English term spanking refers to punishment on the buttocks, though only with the open hand. This part of the body is often chosen because it is painful, but is arguably less likely to cause long-term physical harm.
• The back is commonly targeted in military and judicial punishments, particularly popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, damage to both spine and kidneys is possible and such punishment is rarely used in the modern world.
• Although the face and particularly the cheeks may be struck in domestic punishment, formal punishments avoid the head because of the serious injuries that can ensue. In some countries, domestic and school punishments aimed at the head are considered to be assaults.
• The hands are a common target in school discipline, though rarely targeted in other forms of corporal punishment. Since serious injury can be caused by striking the hand, the implements used and the numbers of blows must be strictly controlled.
• In Western Asia corporal punishment was directed against the feet in the falaka. Although this was mostly used on criminals, a version was in use in schools in the region.

One common problem with corporal punishment is the difficulty with which an objective measure of pain can be delievered. In the nineteenth century scientists such as Alexander Bain and Francis Galton suggested scientific solutions to this, such as the use of electicity. These were, however, unpopular and perceived as cruel. The difficulty in inflicting a set measure of pain makes it difficult to distinguish reasonable punishment from abuse, and has contributed to calls for the abolition of the practice.

See also

• Child abuse
• Domestic violence
• Emotional abuse
• Judicial corporal punishment
• Keelhauling
• Mortification of the flesh
• School discipline
• Spanking Therapy

External links

• Nordics first to ban corporal punishment on children
• World Corporal Punishment Research