Last week legislation was presented to Parliament to remove the defenceof reasonable chastisement in most cases except the lowest charge ofcommon assault. If passed it will become law in September.
Barney McNeany, Northern Ireland's acting commissioner for children andyoung people, said: "While this order offers some limited form ofprotection for children, we are disappointed the Government has notcompletely removed the defence of reasonable chastisement."
However, Northern Ireland minister David Hanson MP said: "This order isa vital step forward and will ensure compliance with the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights. I am confident the new law will offer addedprotection to children." McNeany said: "As one young person told us:'It's not fair - another adult wouldn't be able to hit an adult, but anadult's allowed to hit a child'."
