THE Constitutional Court today ruled that spanking a child is unconstitutional. The ConCourt confirmed the 2017 judgement of the High Court in Johannesburg, which found that disciplining children physically violates their rights.
Freedom of Religion South Africa, a non-profit Christian organisation, approached the Constitutional Court to overturn this ruling.
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The judgement was delivered by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng: “In a unanimous judgement that I have written, we conclude that the common law defence is inconsistent with among others, the provisions of 10 and 12 of the constitution and is therefore invalid. This was especially so because children can be effectively disciplined without resorting to moderate and reasonable chastisement which includes the rod.”
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FOR SA attorney Daniela Ellerbeck said they had not yet had an opportunity to study the full judgement. She did however add: “It is disturbing however, that the right of parents to raise their children according to their own convictions and what they believe to be in the best interest of their children, has not been upheld. It sets a very dangerous precedent in that the State can dictate to people of faith how to read and live out the scriptures, thereby seriously eroding their right to religious freedom.”
Child rights groups previously argued that children who were spanked developed anxieties and are also likely to be violent adults.
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