The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) said that although corporal punishment was initially banned in state schools in 1986, with a full ban in place in all schools in all parts of the UK by 2003, it is still allowed in the home. A parent, or caregiver, can smack or otherwise physically hurt a child within the law as it currently stands if the punishment is "reasonable".
AEP will propose a motion at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Manchester today calling for a full ban on corporal punishment in the UK.
It said that under the current law even when there is physical evidence of severe punishment, it is almost impossible to prove that it is unreasonable. The burden of proof is on the prosecution to show that the punishment was unreasonable, and as the violence takes place behind closed doors, gathering evidence is difficult and successful prosecutions are rare.
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