EDITORIAL: The end of corporal punishment?

“Nothing in this act shall be construed to take away or affect the right of any parent, teacher or other person having the lawful control or charge of a child to administer punishment to such child." – Section 4. Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act 1904

The infliction of corporal punishment in schools would have been in existence as part of the educational curriculum of most of our readers, even if not in fact experienced by many of them. In relatively recent years, the debate has been publicly joined as to whether this form of discipline is not seriously outmoded, especially in a society struggling with the indiscriminate use of violence hostile to the interests of the victim.

Hence we have contended with curbing the incidence of intimate partner or domestic violence; we have seen a rise in the degree and number of violent incidents among school children; and we have judicially outlawed the use of corporal punishment in our prison. During all this time, the sacred cow of corporal punishment in schools has remained immune to repeal, although there was a minor tinkering in the early 80’s when the law restricted that authority to certain members of the teaching staff only. This was subsequently sanctioned in a High Court judgment in 1993.

The main thrust of the protagonist argument was rarely pedagogical in nature, seemingly being based mainly on its effectiveness as a form of discipline and a scarcely veiled reference to the Biblical injunction that were one to spare the “rod” (taken literally), then one would certainly “spoil” the child.

Now, the newly appointed Honorable Minister of Education, Ms Santia Bradshaw, following on the expressed views of her immediate predecessor, has determined that there is the need for the development of a new disciplinary policy since “something about our punishment system is simply not working,” and she has hinted at probable changes in relation to corporal punishment.

According to a report in last Tuesday’s issue of the Barbados Advocate, the Minister is quoted as saying, “We have a system that has been based on corporal punishment in the schools…but I think many of us will agree that…sometimes the harsh punishment of physically punishing a child is simply not working…”

Nor was Ms Bradshaw afraid to tread on the even more sacred ground of corporal punishment administered in the home. She said, “…in using corporal punishment those inflicting the punishment be they teacher or parent (sic) may sometimes actually do more harm than good to the children in our educational system and across our households.”

We applaud the courage of the new Minister in her stated intention. This goes a step beyond that of the previous Minister who, although he also publicly expressed his aversion to this form of violence, never took any concrete step towards its abandonment.

We should wish to warn her, nevertheless, that she will face stiff opposition to her proposal. Corporal punishment has been intricately woven into the cultural fabric as the appropriate form of punishment in Barbados. Despite the goodwill now enjoyed by the new administration of which she forms part, there will be a form of cognitive dissonance when her announced policy clashes with the tradition and especially with the interpretation placed on the Biblical warning by so many of our people.

There will be the usual demand for clearly stated alternatives; prophecies of increased youth anomie and violence; and hints of unwarranted intrusion into the private lives of individuals.

Still, we are reputed to be a thinking people and we must be prepared to seek new approaches when the traditional ones have clearly failed. In this connection, we support the need for reform.