Rejected petition Illegalise the physical harm (e.g. smacking) of children in all parts of the UK.
Scotland (2020) and Wales (2022) have both already banned the smacking of children, making it illegal for anyone to hit a child. Hitting can be very traumatic for children, whether it is done with hands or objects, and it is neither a humane nor effective form of discipline, so it should be banned.
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The hitting of children (by anyone, as teachers hitting children was outlawed years ago, including their family) must be legally banned.
In the news this year, there has been a wave of child deaths following the abuse they faced from their parents/guardians becoming fatal. Banning all physical abuse could protect these children and save young lives. Hitting adults is assault and is illegal, so why are children exempt? Child abuse is wrong and so, penalties could include fines or prison time.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign this petition which calls for a similar action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/620021
Banning smacking in Northern Ireland would be a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly, not the UK Government or House of Commons.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.