Society for the Protection of the Rights of Children (SPARC) organised a consultation with a focus on the elimination of corporal punishment from all settings. SPARC’s monitoring of cases from print media showed that around 29 cases of corporal punishment had been reported in the print media from January to August in 2011.
Monitoring showed a slight increase in the number cases observed through print media. However, occasionally, the use of extreme corporal punishment led to the death of children, especially in schools in Rawalpindi. A majority of the reported cases were from schools and madrassas. However, cases of corporal punishment at home, alternative care settings and workplaces were not reported much, as they are not brought to the media’s attention. Studies have reported a prevalence of corporal punishment in schools.
A study conducted by Plan Pakistan in Punjab found a prevalence rate of 89 percent, with corporal punishment being widely used in both rural and urban settings. The dropout rate during the first five years of education stands as 50 percent, one of the highest in the world.
A study by UNICEF (2007) reported that 74 percent girls and 28 percent children boys reported being ‘beaten’ as a disciplinary measure at home. Corporal punishment was also reported as a common practice in madrassas, shelters and jails. Around 51 percent reported being harshly scolding, while 23 percent reported being beaten for disciplining at workplaces. Orphanages appeared to be the least violent place in terms of disciplining, as compared to jails and madrassas, while violence against street children, especially those who live in shrines, was also common and enough perpetrated by strangers.
According to SPARC, about 35,000 high school students in Pakistan dropped out of school every year due to corporal punishment. Corporal punishment was one of the major contributing factors in turning children into runaways. SPARC Program Manager Iftikhar Mubarik said no violence against children was justified. Abuse of children at work places, schools, madrassas and even within the family structure was rampant and a very alarming situation. The Committee of Experts on Child Rights suggested that section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) be repealed, as it presented a challenge in providing victims of corporal punishment justice, as it allowed mild to moderate punishment for disciplining children below 12.
