Supporting the ban on corporal punishment of children

It is this kind of reasoning which leads to charges of torture in criminal investigations in the Sri Lankan Police Force

In July this year, the parliament took a historic step. It amended the Penal Code, banning all forms of corporal punishment inflicted on children. The government needs be appreciated for taking this bold step. From ancient times, our country has recognised the criminality of imposing corporal punishment as a form of discipline on children.

Our ancient chronicle the ‘Chulavamsa’ -- dating back to the 13th century -- records a law banning the use of corporal punishment on both adults and children as quoted by 15-year-old Hesindi Rivisinghe, a student from Galle.

Corporal punishment became part of the school administration system after British missionaries established the colonial education system in which corporal punishment was accepted.

This has been a burning issue for many years. Our Courts have ruled against imposition of all forms of punishments against children, but no other political party has had the strength of character to ban corporal punishment of children – perhaps for fear of losing votes at the hustings. Corporal punishment gained acceptance with the introduction of the British colonial education system.

Way back in 2019, then JVP member Bimal Ratnayake speaking during the debate on the Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs and Dry Zone Development called for a ban on corporal punishment on school children. He pointed out that there had been no history of corporal punishment being practiced under the pirivena system.

Unfortunately, even as our past colonial masters have begun to recognise the error in their age-old theories of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’, many Lankans feel the need to beat and humiliate their own as well as others’ children.

This mentality was on display when the National Freedom Front (NPP) led by ex-MP Wimal Weerawansa demonstrated outside the Education Ministry opposing the amendment to the Penal Code to ban corporal punishment of children.

What many of these people do not realise is that by beating children to make them submit to our will, we are normalising physical punishment in the minds of the people at large. Adults (parents) beat children as a means of ‘discipline’ or to force children to admit wrong-doing etc. Adults also know children cannot retaliate –- they are helpless.

Corporal punishment leads to torture

It is this kind of reasoning which leads to charges of torture in criminal investigations in the Sri Lankan Police Force. The Asian Human rights Commission and Asian Legal Rights Centre in the foreword to the publication ‘Torture: an entrenched part of a cruel, inhuman & degrading legal system -- lessons from the situation in Sri Lanka’ says the use of torture in criminal investigations is presently endemic in the Sri Lankan Police Force.

Like many in our society, the police too, have come to believe they have a right to ‘forcefully’ extract confessions rather than go through a long and tedious process of investigation. Ordinary members of society too have taken unto themselves the right to cruelly beat up and even kill persons (accused of wrong-doing) when mob mentality takes over.

For example, during the July 1983 government-backed anti-Tamil riots, thousands of Tamil citizens were killed in cold blood. Up to now, there has not been a single prosecution of those involved in those killings. Neither have the master minds behind the carnage been discovered.

Unfortunately for the Tamil people, a Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was not around to demand justice for those thousands who were brutally killed in that mad spell of blood-letting which engulfed our country. It also led to a 30-year war. But still, there is no demand for justice.

The present government’s actions to prevent attacks on children, whether in schools or even in their homes, is the first step in the direction of taking away the impunity for crimes some Lankans have committed without so much as a second thought. It is to be sincerely hoped this government will not cave in to demands of bigots and traditionalists in society. This will be a travesty of justice, and comes at the expense of losing a golden chance to correct what is wrong in our society