Recent ConCourt ruling on corporal punishment in homes could have parents prosecuted for assault if convicted
18 December 2019
Irrespective of how controversial the recent Constitutional Court judgment might seem, the new law now declares any form of corporal... punishment, including the “good old hiding”, smacking, and any other form of physical grabbing during the disciplining of children, illegal. The reasonable and moderate chastisement of children as a form of physical discipline by their parents will therefore no longer be regarded as a lawful and valid defence. Some questions still remain, though. How will different circumstances be judged? How will the law be regulated? What will the consequences be of contravening this new law?