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xChildren’s commissioners call for ban on legal assault of children in UK
Date: 27th May 2025
Category:
General measures of implementation, Civil Rights and Freedoms
Commissioner Nicola Killean, alongside other Children’s commissioners from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is urging Westminster to ensure that all children across the UK receive the same legal protection from assault as adults.
Scotland led the way in November 2020 by granting children equal legal protection from assault as adults through the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act. Similarly, children in Wales are protected, but those in England and Northern Ireland lack equivalent legal protection.
The Commissioners, including Dame Rachel de Souza, Rocio Cifuentes, and Chris Quinn, emphasise that every child in the UK deserves equal legal protection from assault. They said, "Any defence in law permitting assault for physical punishment of children is outdated and morally unacceptable."
The current legal framework in England and Northern Ireland does not align with children's rights outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Dame Rachel De Souza, Children's Commissioner for England, is advocating for an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill at Westminster. This amendment seeks to remove the 'reasonable punishment' defence present in English law and the Children Act 2004.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its most recent recommendations to the UK has made a clear statement that children have the right to protection from violence and equal protection under the law. This necessitates legislation that unequivocally prohibits all forms of corporal punishment of children across all settings.