Essay on “Corporal Punishment is against Humanity” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Corporal Punishment is against Humanity

Corporal punishment a term in criminology is some manner of physical punishment inflicted by judicial order on the body of an offender. The term generally refers to flogging, branding, or mutilation as punishment for a crime. Corporal punishment has been practiced since ancient times. It was assumed that the injured criminal would be less likely to commit other crimes, but this assumption was never proved, and, in fact, one theory holds that severe corporal punishment increases the likelihood of further criminal acts. In the 20th century, corporal punishment has fallen into disfavour in many countries; and has been replaced with penal methods that provide correctional goals, such as psychological guidance and vocational training programmes in prisons. Corporal punishment is still part of the penal systems of some nations in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

The general acceptance, and sometimes support, of corporal punishment as a method of discipline is an aspect of the American culture. Children are abused, in part, because they are unable to defend themselves against stronger and more powerful adults. Researchers only recently have recognized that spanking is used primarily with young children and that the incidence and severity of spanking often diminishes by the time children are 8-10 years of age.

In a research project done using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, researchers examined the antecedents of parents’ spanking behaviour. This study represents an important step forward in understanding the profile of parents who spank their children. Even though the study had little theoretical orientation from which spanking could be predicted, it showed that younger mothers spank much more frequently than older mothers; that younger children are spanked more than older children, and that higher levels of socio-economic status are associated with the decrease in spanking. It also showed that mothers with lower education, mothers living in the south and mothers who are African-American reported increased levels of corporal punishment; and that mothers reporting higher levels of religiosity also spanked more.

Consistent use of corporal punishment has been an indicator of less effective parenting and is commonly linked to socialization outcomes such as delinquency, low self-esteem, and social incompetence The child’s temperament and personality directly affect the parent’s ability to employ non-physical discipline strategies. Consequently, children who are perceived as difficult are more likely to be spanked than those who are not perceived as difficult.

Older parents who have more education will have more experience raising children, will know more about alternative and no punitive strategies of discipline, and will have a greater sense of personal maturity and self-control, all of which may reduce inclinations to spank.

When parents are working and are not on public assistance, they have a greater ability to provide necessities and extras for their children. Economic independence may lead to a greater sense of personal worth. This higher self-worth should convert into more competent parenting, an important link to non-punitive discipline.

Single mothers have been characterized as “understaffed” and as having difficulty juggling the demands of household, children, and work. When these strains exist, discipline strategies may reflect a more pressured situation. Even controlling for the age of the mother, the pressurized climate of living as a single parent will increase the amount of reported spanking Fathers generally spank less than the mothers.

Fathers, even when their children are young, are less likely to spank. Younger children tend to receive the most frequent spankings. This suggests that this period of the child’s life may be difficult for mothers.

Little work has been done to understand parents’ discipline strategies in many ethnic and racial groups in our society. Motivations for spanking are complex and embedded in the ideological and family system fabric of daily life and should become a significant area of research.

Finally, we need to know more about the personal resources of parents that can lessen the incidence of spanking. It is found that spanking sharply decreases as the parent ages. Despite ideological motivations, parents can and should be trained to understand alternative strategies of discipline.