The Swedish Ban on the Corporal Punishment of Children – The implications, effects and challenges three decades later
3:00pm - 5:00pm /
Wednesday 27th April 2016
/ Venue: Lecture Theatre 3 Rendall Building
Type: Seminar /
Category: Research
- Marketing, Recruitment and Events Team
- Admission: Free event - open to all
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A Joint European Children's Rights Unit and International Law and Human Rights Unit Event.
Pernilla Leviner, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law
Abstract
Sweden internationally is often associated with IKEA, Ingmar Bergman and more recently, the Swedish House Mafia. Another aspect for which Sweden is well-known, at least in certain circles, is that it was the first country in the world to introduce in 1979 a prohibition against the corporal punishment of children. Studies conducted after the enactment of the ban have shown remarkable societal changes, both as to parental views and the use of physical punishment with children. The majority of Swedish parents today, in contrast to the situation prior to the ban, has a very negative view and low tolerance for corporal punishment. The restrictions in the ability of parents to determine how to raise their children is scarcely questioned or even generally debated.
From an international perspective, both the prohibition in itself and the negative attitudes towards corporal punishment as part of child-raising are rather the exception. Prohibitions against corporal punishment are now found in 48 of the approximately 200 countries. Proponents for the enactment of a prohibition against corporal punishment worldwide often use Sweden as a model. However, there is a risk that the situation in Sweden is described, analyzed and used in a somewhat oversimplified manner. Despite the fact that the Swedish reform can, and in many ways definitely should, be seen as a model, there are reasons to critically review the Swedish prohibition from a broader perspective. Much speaks to the fact that the Swedish system with respect to protecting children from violence and vulnerability is currently facing a series of challenges. Certain of these challenges might even be tied to the enactment of the prohibition. The corporal punishment prohibition in Sweden is here reviewed and placed in its broader context, in order to examine its consequences and effects – both positive and negative – on a deeper level.
Biography
Pernilla Leviner is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University and the deputy head of the Stockholm Centre for the Rights of the Child.
Her research interests concern different aspects of children’s rights and child protection. Recent and on-going projects are focused on, among other things, the role and function of courts in child protection systems, the Swedish ban on physical punishment, and children’s right to participation through legal representatives.
From January to July 2016 Pernilla is on a sabbatical at Oxford University, Faculty of Law, and she is an Associate Member of Exeter College.
Pernilla Leviner, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law
Abstract
Sweden internationally is often associated with IKEA, Ingmar Bergman and more recently, the Swedish House Mafia. Another aspect for which Sweden is well-known, at least in certain circles, is that it was the first country in the world to introduce in 1979 a prohibition against the corporal punishment of children. Studies conducted after the enactment of the ban have shown remarkable societal changes, both as to parental views and the use of physical punishment with children. The majority of Swedish parents today, in contrast to the situation prior to the ban, has a very negative view and low tolerance for corporal punishment. The restrictions in the ability of parents to determine how to raise their children is scarcely questioned or even generally debated.
From an international perspective, both the prohibition in itself and the negative attitudes towards corporal punishment as part of child-raising are rather the exception. Prohibitions against corporal punishment are now found in 48 of the approximately 200 countries. Proponents for the enactment of a prohibition against corporal punishment worldwide often use Sweden as a model. However, there is a risk that the situation in Sweden is described, analyzed and used in a somewhat oversimplified manner. Despite the fact that the Swedish reform can, and in many ways definitely should, be seen as a model, there are reasons to critically review the Swedish prohibition from a broader perspective. Much speaks to the fact that the Swedish system with respect to protecting children from violence and vulnerability is currently facing a series of challenges. Certain of these challenges might even be tied to the enactment of the prohibition. The corporal punishment prohibition in Sweden is here reviewed and placed in its broader context, in order to examine its consequences and effects – both positive and negative – on a deeper level.
Biography
Pernilla Leviner is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University and the deputy head of the Stockholm Centre for the Rights of the Child.
Her research interests concern different aspects of children’s rights and child protection. Recent and on-going projects are focused on, among other things, the role and function of courts in child protection systems, the Swedish ban on physical punishment, and children’s right to participation through legal representatives.
From January to July 2016 Pernilla is on a sabbatical at Oxford University, Faculty of Law, and she is an Associate Member of Exeter College.