Video Information


Below: A September, 2011 60 Minutes segment showing an interview with Adam Blakester, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), regarding the use of smacking & physical punishment. .




Below:Uploaded on Mar 8, 2009: Interview with UK professor of child psychiatry Sir Michael Rutter regarding discipline, punishment and abuse.




Below: Elizabeth T. Gershoff, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, who researches in areas associated with adolescence, young childhood, infancy and parenting, is interviewed on discipline, incl spanking of children by parents.




Below: A July 2010 Canadian video comment from The Straight Dope. This seems to be a carefully-considered and fairly well-researched comment on why using corporal punishment to corrrect misbehaviour in children should cease.






Web links, documents


On August 9, 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald published an article detailing The Royal Australasian College of Physicians' proposal that it be made illegal for parents to physically punish their children.
The full text of the article can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-slap-20130809-2rlv2.html

On August 5, 2013, The Australian ran an opinion piece by Adam Shand, which is essentially a defence of parents' right to use reasonable physical force in the disciplining of their children.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/parents-under-pressure-over-challenge-to-the-right-to-smack/story-e6frg8y6-1226691025704

On July 29, 2013, The Age ran an editorial opposing parental use of physical force titled 'Why smacking should be regarded as a crime'. The full text can be accessed at http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/why-smacking-should-be-regarded-as-a-crime-20130728-2qsul.html

On July 26, 2013, The Conversation published an opinion piece by Associate Professor Susan Moloney, the President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians' paediatrics and child health division. The piece is titled 'Let's talk about making smacking children illegal' and argues for the abolition of the use of corporal punishment by parents on their children.
The full text can be accessed at http://theconversation.com/lets-talk-about-making-smacking-children-illegal-16399

On July 25, 2013, The Age printed an article titled 'Outlawing the smack' which detailed proposals from The Royal Australasian College of Physicians that it be made illegal for parents to physically punish their children.
The full text of this article can be found at http://www.theage.com.au/national/outlawing-the-smack-20130725-2qnl5.html

On May 29, 2013, The Australian Institute of Family Studies produced a background paper for the Australian Parliament titled 'Corporal Punishment: Key issues'. Among other information, the paper includes an outline of the legal situation in the different Australian states and territories regarding the corporal punishment of children.
The full text can be found at http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs19/rs19.html

On August 2, 2012, Right Now, the journal of Human Rights in Australia ran an opinion piece titled 'The Slap: Corporal punishment and children's human rights' The piece is critical of the use of corporal punishment on children. The full text can be accessed at http://rightnow.org.au/topics/children-and-youth/the-slap-corporal-punishment-and-childrens-human-rights/

On November 9, 2011, CNN ran a report titled 'In Sweden, a generation of kids who've never been spanked'. The piece gives an overview of the situation in Sweden and the United States regarding the physical punishment of children.
The full text of this report can be accessed at http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/09/world/sweden-punishment-ban

On January 4, 2010, The Mail Online ran a report on a then recent study which suggested some positive effects from the use of corporal punishment on children. The piece is titled 'Young children who are smacked "go on to be more successful"'. The full text can be accessed at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1240279/Children-smacked-young-likely-successful-study-finds.html

On February 15, 2001, On Line Opinion published a comment by Barry Maley titled 'Corporal punishment is not all bad.' The full text of the opinion piece can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=1975