Just as the old saying goes, ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child,’ corporal punishment still remains at the realm of all forms of discipline and is used as a domestic, educational (at school) and judicial (at Kgotlas) form of discipline.
Communities across the world use corporal punishment as a means of communication towards the perpetrator with the hope that the offensive deed will not be repeated in future.
Corporal punishment involves a deliberate infliction of pain on an individual who has done an unpleasant, unlawful or unacceptable action. This pain is usually by a cane, whip or any object, especially in a domestic set up where many wrong doers fell victim to a shoe.
In rural community-based societies here in Botswana, the growth and well being of a child was perceived as the responsibility of a community as a whole, therefore, any elder who felt a child within the vicinity erred could discipline the child however they saw fit, and at the top of the list was corporal punishment.
Despite its obvious popularity, corporal punishment has become a growing subject of controversy as human rights activists across the world have deemed it to be a violent, barbaric and degrading thing to do to the person at the receiving end.
It has been criminalised in 32 countries across the world and though it is still widely practised in Botswana, the modern aged part of the society feels very strongly against this form of discipline and are vehemently vilifying and condemning it.
Child Line Botswana, which prides itself in “standing for the general well being of children”, is against corporal punishment and is still advocating for adding clauses in the Education Act, which addresses the use of corporal punishment at schools. Olebile Machete from Child Line Botswana explained that, in aid of protecting the children, they guide parents and teachers on how to instil discipline without necessarily assaulting the child.
Machete stated that it was more important to get the message across to the child that they had done wrong than it was to inflict pain on them. He further stated that they were aware of the importance of instilling discipline in children but it could be done in many other ways without physically harming the child in order to uphold their mandate which suggests that “corporal punishment is nothing other than violence directed towards children”.
“We, as a society, instil the spirit of violence in children by making them accept that the powerful are allowed to direct violence on the less powerful. It is a power relation issue. Trying to use cosmetic terms like corporal punishment, smacking, spanking in talking about violence directed towards children is not helping the children’s rights cause at all,” said Machete.
A Community Junior Secondary school teacher, who chose to speak anonymously, suggested that there are other means of communication that can be used to guide a child and show them they are wrong and encourage them not to repeat the mistake in future.
She suggested that discipline should begin at home by “beginning strict training from a young and tender age; for example, using facial expressions and stern words to show disapproval.
“Give clear instructions and do not be afraid to say no and mean it,” she said, urging the abiding by the Setswana saying, ‘Lore le ojwa le sale metsi’, which literally means that the best time to start moulding a child is when they are younger.
University of Botswana Lecturer from the Department of Social Work, Taolo Lucas, feels extremely strongly against corporal punishment and feels that “corporal punishment is violent and degrading”.
“It fosters a psychology in young people that one of the ways of resolving conflict or difference is to use violent ways which may include beating or hitting with a stick or other objects,” Lucas said. “Whilst some credit it for deterring misconduct among young people, its long term impact on a child can be disastrous.”
Lucas further explained the importee of dialogue and how it can be used for any conflict resolution, including a domestic setup and even further suggested that using corporal punishment maybe responsible for breeding a generation which views violence as a means of resolving problems.
“The Tokyo rules, Riyadh guidelines and the Beijing rules are against the use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure,” he said, adding that when dealing with children with unbecoming behaviour, “punishment meted out should be in the form of sanctions that do not violate the human rights of a child”.
Where adults are concerned, corporal punishment is primarily used after an individual is tried and convicted and the crime is not big enough to send them to the slammer. It is intentionally done to inflict pain, humiliation and discomfort to penalise for unruly and criminal behaviour, which is still also undergoing a heated debate on the manner in which it is performed.
