Smacking ban urged as poll opposition rises

BELIEF among young adults that use of force against a child is unacceptable has grown stronger in recent years according to new polling which has prompted campaigners to make a fresh call for a change in the law.

- AINE FOX

Wales made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in March 2022, while Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020. But it is not completely outlawed in England and Northern Ireland.

According to the Children Act 2004, it is unlawful to hit your child, except where it is “reasonable punishment’, and this is judged on a case-by-case basis.

New polling for the NSPCC, carried out by YouGov, suggests around eight in 10 people (82%) aged between 18 and 24 believe it is unacceptable for a parent to use force, however slight, against a child.

This is an increase from 64% of young adults who thought it was unacceptable when polled in 2023.

Among parents specifically, the figures have remained high in recent years, with the latest polling showing 81% felt this way, up slightly from 80% last year and from 76% in 2022.