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| France Is Rebuked Over Corporal Punishment by Parents | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| France has gotten a diplomatic slap on the wrist over spanking. | France has gotten a diplomatic slap on the wrist over spanking. |
| The Council of Europe faulted the country on Wednesday for failing to fully and clearly ban the corporal punishment of children, as it committed to do under a European treaty. The council’s ruling stemmed from a complaint lodged two years ago against France and several other European countries by a British child protection organization. | The Council of Europe faulted the country on Wednesday for failing to fully and clearly ban the corporal punishment of children, as it committed to do under a European treaty. The council’s ruling stemmed from a complaint lodged two years ago against France and several other European countries by a British child protection organization. |
| The ruling is a symbolic one, with no penalty attached, and the French government has no plans to respond with legislation. Even so, it has revived a long debate in France over the propriety of physically disciplining children, a practice banned in the nation’s schools but not in family settings. | The ruling is a symbolic one, with no penalty attached, and the French government has no plans to respond with legislation. Even so, it has revived a long debate in France over the propriety of physically disciplining children, a practice banned in the nation’s schools but not in family settings. |
| Child abuse is illegal in France and is punished with long prison sentences, but it is not uncommon for French parents to slap or spank children, or for the French courts to view such actions as acceptable under a customary “right to discipline.” | Child abuse is illegal in France and is punished with long prison sentences, but it is not uncommon for French parents to slap or spank children, or for the French courts to view such actions as acceptable under a customary “right to discipline.” |
| The council’s ruling said that there was “no sufficiently clear, binding and precise prohibition of corporal punishment set out in French law,” a violation of the European Social Charter, an international treaty signed and ratified by France that includes an article on the rights of children. | The council’s ruling said that there was “no sufficiently clear, binding and precise prohibition of corporal punishment set out in French law,” a violation of the European Social Charter, an international treaty signed and ratified by France that includes an article on the rights of children. |
| The council, an international organization that defends human rights in Europe, among other activities, is separate from the European Union. | The council, an international organization that defends human rights in Europe, among other activities, is separate from the European Union. |
| The group that lodged the original complaint is the Association for the Protection of All Children, known as Approach. The group also asserted that Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Slovenia were in violation of the treaty. Since then, Cyprus has adopted legislation to comply with the charter. Estelle Steiner, a spokeswoman for the Council of Europe, said decisions on the other five nations would be published in May. | The group that lodged the original complaint is the Association for the Protection of All Children, known as Approach. The group also asserted that Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Slovenia were in violation of the treaty. Since then, Cyprus has adopted legislation to comply with the charter. Estelle Steiner, a spokeswoman for the Council of Europe, said decisions on the other five nations would be published in May. |
| Peter Newell, a representative of Approach, said the group had not intended to single out France, but rather to work toward the end of corporal punishment of children around the world. According to Approach, 44 countries ban the practice everywhere, including in the home, and 27 of them are in Europe. | Peter Newell, a representative of Approach, said the group had not intended to single out France, but rather to work toward the end of corporal punishment of children around the world. According to Approach, 44 countries ban the practice everywhere, including in the home, and 27 of them are in Europe. |
| Britain has not enacted a ban, but the group did not lodge a complaint against it because Britain has not accepted the Council of Europe’s collective complaints procedure, Mr. Newell said. | Britain has not enacted a ban, but the group did not lodge a complaint against it because Britain has not accepted the Council of Europe’s collective complaints procedure, Mr. Newell said. |
| “The decision confirms that France does not have clear laws telling its parents that they cannot use degrees of violence in disciplining children,” he said. “It’s clear that this concept of a ‘right of correction’ still exists in France.” | “The decision confirms that France does not have clear laws telling its parents that they cannot use degrees of violence in disciplining children,” he said. “It’s clear that this concept of a ‘right of correction’ still exists in France.” |
| Not everywhere, though: In a widely followed case tried in Limoges in central France, a father was fined 500 euros, about $550, for spanking his 9-year-old son. | Not everywhere, though: In a widely followed case tried in Limoges in central France, a father was fined 500 euros, about $550, for spanking his 9-year-old son. |
| If recent history is any guide, a ban on spanking would not be popular in France, at least among grown-ups. When a legislator proposed one in Parliament in 2009, a poll by the TNS-Sofres institute found that 82 percent of respondents were opposed. Though more than half of parents in the survey said spanking ought to be avoided, two-thirds said that they themselves had, at least once, failed to stay their hand. | If recent history is any guide, a ban on spanking would not be popular in France, at least among grown-ups. When a legislator proposed one in Parliament in 2009, a poll by the TNS-Sofres institute found that 82 percent of respondents were opposed. Though more than half of parents in the survey said spanking ought to be avoided, two-thirds said that they themselves had, at least once, failed to stay their hand. |