According to UNICEF data, six out of every ten children in the world (about 1,000 million) from two to 14 years old suffer periodic corporal punishment at the hands of their caregivers. And these chilling figures may be just the tip of the iceberg, since there is a lot of hidden child abuse. But what is known for sure is that children are more protected in those societies that condemn any type of violence against them and whose customs and traditions widely respect the rights of children.
That is why we do not like that there is ambiguity on this issue, as in the case of France or legal loopholes for which a slap against the most defenseless can be accepted. Y we are glad that Peru has taken the step and already explicitly condemns the physical punishment of children.
The Congress of the Republic of Peru has just passed a bill that prohibits any form of physical or humiliating punishment for children and adolescents. The proposal has had the favorable vote of 75 legislators, one abstention and none against.
Through this express prohibition we want to reduce the number of abused children, which in the Andean country is very high and that brings together not only physical abuse in the family, but also institutional, or the case of abuse for sexual exploitation of minors (Peru has a network of sex tourism), work childish…
Thus, Peru joins the list of countries that explicitly prohibit corporal punishment against minors. In Latin America, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Uruguay were the first to ban these practices in all areas (at school and at home) between 2007 and 2009. Only three countries.
In the following years, Brazil, Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua and Argentina and Argentina and Argentina approved in 2014 a law in this regard that will enter into force in 2016.
The situation in Europe is that 27 of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe have explicitly prohibited corporal punishment against minors, but these are still allowed in 20 other countries. In developing countries, this issue is less legislated and children's rights are more violated and in more varied ways (child labor, child marriage ...).
To create an environment of protection, it is essential that families and communities be able to protect their children, but it is also essential to have an adequate legislative framework that is designed to safeguard childhood from abuse, as well as its implementation and application.
Through these essential elements we are contributing to create an environment for the protection of children, where their fundamental rights are respected. And in this sense Peru has taken another step by prohibiting physical punishment of children, so we hope that, step by step, country by country, family by family, the figures of child abuse will decrease and that this will be an unstoppable path towards the respect of those most vulnerable.
