Rejected petition Stop all forms of physical punishment.
Make it illegal for anyone to harm a child physically, regardless of the reason or relationship with the child. Regard it as abuse.
More details
When other techniques can be used to tackle bad behaviour, physical punishment is unnecessary and traumatic. It promotes fear, not respect. It can lead to more abuse in adult life from the abuser or the abused. Family members or care givers should be educated about other forms of behaviour management. Schools should also run sessions to raise awareness. Hospitals and adoption agencies could offer courses as well to new parents.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. It's already illegal to assault a child. There are limited circumstances where a parent or carers is currently allowed to smack a child, you can find out more here:
https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/the-law-on-smacking-children/
You could start a new petition calling for a ban on smacking children, if that's what you'd like to see happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.