Download: Acrobat Reader 
or Microsoft Word 
SPANKING FACT SHEET
END PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN
(EPOCH-USA)
155 West Main Street, Suite 1603, Columbus, OH 43212 (614) 221-8829
www.stophitting.org
"If we are ever to turn toward a kindlier society and a safer world, a revulsion of physical punishment would be a great place to start." - Dr. Benjamin Spock
WHAT IS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT?
Corporal punishment is the intentional infliction of physical pain for the purposes of punishment. Examples of corporal punishment include: slapping, hitting with objects, pinching, forcing to stand for long periods of time, shaking, etc.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF HITTING CHILDREN?
Parents who support the use of corporal punishment commit significantly more child abuse than parents who do not support the use of corporal punishment.
Children who are severely physically punished are more likely to severely and repeatedly assault a sibling.
The more physical punishment a child receives, the more likely the child will later demonstrate physical aggression against an individual outside the family.
Physical punishment of children contributes to delinquency and general pro-violence attitude of children.
"After nearly two decades of research on the causes of family violence, we are convinced that our society must abandon its reliance on spanking children if we are to prevent intimate violence." - Richard J. Gelles and Murray A. Straus
THE MOVEMENT TO BAN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN HOMES EXPANDS...
The following countries have laws or highest court rulings that prohibit the use of physical punishment of children in families:
| AUSTRIA | BULGARIA | CROATIA | CYPRUS | DENMARK |
| FINLAND | GERMANY | GREECE | HUNGARY | ISRAEL |
| ICELAND | ITALY | LATVIA | NETHERLANDS | NORWAY |
| SWEDEN | ROMANIA | UKRAINE | ||
The following are among the organizations that have adopted policies calling for an end to corporal punishment of children:
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE
NATIONAL FOSTER PARENT ASSOCIATION
PARENTS ANONYMOUS NATIONAL
"The cultural acceptance of violence [should] be decreased by discouraging corporal punishment at home... [because these] are models and sanctions of violence." - U.S. Surgeon General's Workshop on Violence and Public Health
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES:
Write to the U.S. Surgeon General to ask that a national task force be established to explore ways of ending the use of parental corporal punishment of children.
Write to your governor to ask for the establishment of a governor's task force to study the ending of corporal punishment of children in all settings.
Ask legislators to mandate parenting/child development education and conflict resolution training in all public schools.
Ask legislators to introduce a bill prohibiting any person responsible for a child's welfare from subjecting the child to any corporal punishment.
Get organizations to which you belong to adopt a position statement calling for the elimination parental corporal punishment and for the teaching of non-violent discipline techniques to parents.
Check with your state or local Board of Education to see if corporal punishment is abolished in your schools. If not, call or write for information about how to get it abolished. Center for Effective Discipline, 155 W. Main Street, Suite 1603, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Phone: (614) 221-8829.
For further information contact End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH-USA): Nadine Block & Robert Fathman, Co-Chairs EPOCH-USA, 155 W. Main Street, Suite 1603, Columbus, OH 43215.