Equal Protection Act coming into force

Date: 27th October 2020
Category: Equal protection from violence

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On the 7^th November 2020 the main provisions of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 will come into force. Scottish Government has created resources to support the commencement of the Act.

Studies show the harmful impact that physical punishment has on children. At present, the common law defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ is available to parents and carers charged with assaulting a child in their care.  The Act will remove this defence meaning it will be no longer be lawful to physically punish a child in Scotland.

A variety of resources have been developed to support the Act coming into force. These include:

• A poster for children with information about the Act
• FAQs about the Act for children

Information about this Act can be found here.