Question 1: Do you agree with the Scottish Executive that parents should continue to be allowed to use reasonable physical punishment for their children?
Question 2: Do you agree with the Scottish Executive proposals set out below?
Proposal 1: The law should make clear that physical punishment which constitutes ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ can never be justified as ‘reasonable chastisement’.
Proposal 2: The law should explicitly set out that, in considering whether or not the physical punishment of a child constitutes ‘reasonable chastisement’, a Court should always have regard to:
a. The nature and context of the treatment;
b. Its duration;
c. Its physical and mental effects; and, in some instances,
d. The sex, age and state of health of the victim.
Question 3: What, if any, factors should the law require a Court to consider when determining whether the physical punishment of a child constitutes ‘reasonable chastisement’, over and above those factors set out in para. 5.4?
Question 4: Are there any forms of physical punishment which should never be capable of being considered as ‘reasonable’? Specifically, should the law state that any of the following can never be considered as reasonable:
a. Blows to the head (risking injuries to the brain, eyes and ears)?
b. Shaking children? (risking injuries to the brain)?
c. Using implements (e.g. canes, slippers, belts)?
d. The physical punishment of very young children (and if so, of what age)?
Question 5: Who should be able to administer ‘reasonable chastisement’? Should it be:
a. Only those with parental responsibilities and rights under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995)?
b. As now, all those acting on behalf of parents in looking after children (except in settings where physical punishment has been outlawed)?
c. All those acting on behalf of parents, but only if they have been given explicit permission to physically punish the child?
Question 6: Should there be a ban on corporal punishment in childcare centres, by childminders and in non-publicly funded pre-school centres?