Fresh calls for smacking ban as new research reveals growing belief child punishment is wrong
Ministers are facing fresh calls to impose a UK-wide ban on smacking after new polling revealed that more young adults think it should never be allowed.
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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 in cases deemed to be "reasonable punishment", which are assessed individually.
New research has now revealed around 82% of 18-24-year-olds believe any force whatsoever by a parent is unacceptable.
The polling for the NSPCC carried out by YouGov marks an increase from 64% in 2023.
And 81% of parents believe the use of force against children should not be permissible.
That’s up from 80% last year and 76% in 2022.
Read more: Smacking ban needed to protect children from 'detrimental effects', health experts warn
Around 3,800 adults in England were surveyed for the research – and 749 of these were parents with a child under 18.
Meanwhile, 198 of them were 18 to 24 years old.
The research has prompted renewed calls for a smacking ban across the UK - with doctors and psychiatrists claiming research highlights "detrimental effects of physical punishment".
They argued a ban would uphold a child’s "fundamental right to safety and protection".
NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood said of the latest figures: “Parents and young people are telling us loud and clear that they don’t want physical punishment to be a part of anyone’s childhood.
“Parents know their children and what works best for them. It is therefore crucial their experiences and opinions are not ignored or undermined, but act as a wake-up call.
“As parliamentarians continue to debate the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we urge them to change the law to better reflect public attitudes to violence against children and ensure no childhood has to be tainted by physical punishment again.”
Up to 13 health organisations previously calling on the Government to back an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which would remove the "reasonable punishment" defence from law in England.
They said that the Bill marked a "pivotal moment" in the smacking ban campaign.
It came in the wake of the murder of 10-year-old Sara Sharif in Woking.
The girl's father Urfan Sharif claimed in a call to police after fleeing England that he "did legally punish" his daughter and that he "beat her up too much".
He and Sara's stepmother Beinash Batool were jailed for life in December 2024 for Sara's murder.
The UK’s four children’s commissioners have jointly called for a wholesale smacking ban, branding the current situation where there is a legal defence as “outdated and morally repugnant”.
Children's Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said: "I am haunted by the words of Sara Sharif's abusive father that he 'legally punished her' until she died.
"Let this be Sara's legacy, that all children in the United Kingdom are given the same protection as anyone else."