There is a substantial body of research showing that corporal punishment of children increases the risk of broad and enduring negative developmental outcomes. Corporal punishment from parents and teachers does not teach children respect; it teaches fear, engenders anger and resentment, and produces ongoing cycles of violence. Instead, parents must be supported in learning nonviolent, effective approaches to discipline.
By teaching both fathers and mothers nonviolent child-rearing skills like educating through dialogue and setting limits without using violence, by supporting gender-equal child-rearing, and by raising awareness about the negative impacts of corporal punishment through advocacy and campaigns more broadly, we can break the cycle of violence in the home.
MenCare presented the webinar “Sharing Caregiving and Stopping Corporal Punishment” on October 14, 2016 featuring Elizabeth Gershoff, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin; Joan Durrant, Child-Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Community Health Sciences in the Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba; and Sonia Vohito, Coordinator of the Africa Project of The Global Initiative to End Corporal Punishment. The keynote speakers discussed evidence about the harmful effects of corporal punishment, strategies to prevent violence, and global progress on legal reform to eliminate corporal punishment.