Spanking, slapping, deprivation, …: Belgium is one of the last countries not to have banned “ordinary educational violence”
Eight children’s and human rights organizations are calling for a rapid ban on so-called ordinary educational violence against children, announced on Monday the Federal Institute of Human Rights (IFDH), one of the organizations involved. square. Belgium is one of the last countries in Western Europe not to have banned this type of violence. The so-called ordinary educational violence is violence used against children in a but perceived as educational. It is qualified as ordinary because of its often everyday, trivialized and tolerated character. It can be of a physical nature, such as a spanking or a slap, but also psychological (depriving of outings, games, pocket money, blackmailing at leisure, etc.) and / or verbal, shouting and insults for example.
Organizations point out that the problem is that “Belgium continues to tolerate this type of violence, by not explicitly prohibiting it”. Yet, they say, the solution is within reach. Indeed, two bills tabled in early 2021 were, for the first time, put on the Commission’s agenda and were sent to the Council of State. The latter gave a largely favorable opinion on the first proposal and its opinion on the second is still awaited.
The important thing, according to the organizations, is to comply with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which favors a ban in the Civil Code over a criminal ban. “The objective is not to penalize parents, but to gain knowledge and to bring them to understand the extremely harmful effects of the use of violence in the education of children and the importance of giving priority to non-education. violent “, they add.
The organizations also insist on the preponderant role of sensitization, prevention and information of the general public as well as on training and support in non-violent parenting for parents, teachers, law enforcement agencies. , social workers and all professionals active in the fields of childhood.