Right: the right of parents to discipline children by force has been taken away in many European and Scandinavia countries. In New Zealand, however, similar laws have recently been modified.
Background information
There are a number of countries where it is illegal to subject children to any form of physical punishment.States where children are protected from all corporal punishment include:
Sweden 1979 - 'Children ... may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment'.
Finland 1983 - 'A child shall ... not be corporally punished or otherwise humiliated'.
Norway 1987 - Declaration that 'the child shall not be exposed to physical violence'.
Denmark 1997 - Law was clarified to state 'a child may not be subjected to corporal punishment or other degrading treatment'.
Austria 1989 - 'Violence and inflicting physical or mental suffering is unlawful'.
Cyprus 1994 - Law to prevent 'violence ... against another member of the family'.
Italy 1996 - The supreme court ruled 'The use of violence for educational purposes can no longer be considered lawful'.
Latvia 1998 - Law on children's rights prevents corporal punishment.
Croatia 1999 - A law prohibits the physical punishment and humiliation of children.
Germany 2000 - 'Corporal punishment, psychological injuries and other humiliating measures are prohibited'.
Israel 2000 - The supreme court banned all parental corporal punishment.
Iceland 2003 - 'It is the parents' obligation to protect their child against any physical or mental violence'.
New Zealand 2007 - The law removed a provision which said parents could use 'reasonable force' to discipline their children, but gave police the discretion not to prosecute trivial cases.