The Scottish parliament has voted by a significant majority in favour of banning the physical punishment of children.
The bill, lodged by the Scottish Green party MSP John Finnie and supported by the Scottish National party government, is designed to give children equal protection from violence by removing the defence of “justifiable assault” in Scots law.
As the bill passed its crucial stage one vote by 80 votes to 29, Finnie said he wanted to send a clear message that physical punishment of children was not acceptable.
Leading the debate, the former police officer described it as an “international imperative” to bring Scotland into line with best practice across the world, noting 54 countries already prohibit the physical punishment of children, “with all the evidence showing that this is a positive and necessary step”.
Supporting Finnie, the children’s minister, Maree Todd, underlined that the intention was not to criminalise parents, adding that in other countries where similar legislation had been enacted, there had been no increase in prosecutions.
Parents in England and Northern Ireland are currently allowed to use “reasonable chastisement”, while similar legislation to Scotland was introduced by the Welsh government in March.
Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, said the Scottish bill “really does show up the outdated situation in England”.
She added: “Jersey and the Republic of Ireland have already changed the law and Scotland and Wales are not far behind. It is time for ministers to do the same in England and change this piece of archaic legislation to protect children and reflect the fact the overwhelming majority of parents believe hitting children is wrong and that there are better ways to encourage positive behaviour.”
A number of Scottish Conservative MSPs argued the bill was “bad law”, with Oliver Mundell complaining too long had been spent on “ideological debate” rather than looking at the legal detail.
Scottish Liberal Democrat and Scottish Labour members also supported the bill, although Labour’s Iain Gray warned “we shouldn’t kid ourselves that in passing this legislation we resolve all the difficulties and challenges that face children in country today.”
Mary Glasgow, the chief executive of Children 1st, Scotland’s national children’s charity, described the passing of the bill at stage one as a “momentous step”, and evidence of a wholesale shift in attitudes to child rearing and children’s rights over the past few decades.
“This is not about blaming or shaming parents. Acknowledging that family life is better when hitting and violence is off the table helps with that cultural shift and brings legislation up to date with where most people have already got to,” she said.
