NSPCC reports increase in cases of physical punishment in one year

According to the NSPCC, reports of children being subjected to physical punishment have more than tripled in a year. The charity’s helpline has been inundated with cases of children being hit, slapped and shaken as forms of discipline. The NSPCC is calling on the new government to abolish the legal defence of “reasonable punishment” in England.

The number of reports mentioning physical punishment rose from 447 in the year ending March 2023 to 1,451 in the year ending March 2024. Wales banned all forms of physical punishment, including hitting, in 2022, and Scotland introduced a similar law two years earlier. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is calling for a UK-wide ban on hitting, citing legal ambiguities.

More than half of the NSPCC reports on physical punishment came from concerned members of the public who observed parents’ behaviour. Only one in 10 reports came from children. The charity found that 45% of the 1,451 reports were serious enough to warrant referral to social services or the police.

The NSPCC helpline is here to provide expert advice and support if you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child. 💚

☎️ 0808 800 5000
✉️ [email protected]
🖊️ By completing our online Report Abuse form.

For more information see: https://t.co/qAafkzkD6c photo.twitter.com/ZwejBZJi6L

— NSPCC (@NSPCC) August 21, 2024

In 2022, Sir Keir Starmer urged other UK countries to copy Wales’ ban, saying it offers children the protections adults already enjoy. Studies link physical punishment to depression, anxiety, increased aggression and antisocial behaviour, as highlighted by the NSPCC.

The charity attributes the increase in reports to several factors, including the renewed campaign to ban spanking, increased helpline capacity and public confusion about acceptable disciplinary actions for children.

Sir Peter Wanless, the chief executive of the NSPCC, described the rise in reports as “extremely worrying”. He stressed that evidence showed that physical discipline can be harmful and ineffective. He called on political leaders to introduce a long-overdue change in the law to ban physical punishment of children.

Opponents of the change argue that the current system already prohibits violence against children, while protecting parents from prosecution for “innocent and harmless parenting decisions.”