Important:

This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament

Petition Ban smacking children in the UK

Britain is now one of just four countries in Europe where smacking remains a legal way of disciplining children. Many studies have demonstrated that smacking has no long-term positive impact on children. Please sign this petition to defend the basic human rights of our children.

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There are many other, more effective, ways to discipline children that do not involve inflicting physical harm on them.

Smacking should not be regarded as merely a form of discipline; it is assault and it must not be tolerated in this day and age. It is unacceptable that assaulted adults can go to the police, but assaulted children have no form of recourse.

This petition closed early because of a General Election Find out more on the Petitions Committee website

15 signatures

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10,000 signatures required to get a government response