Corporal Punishment of Children

Corporal punishment is a physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain (not injury) as retribution for an offence or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable. The term usually refers to methodically striking the offender with an implement whether in judicial domestic or educational settings. Corporal punishment is in three forms: parental or domestic corporal punishment: within the family-typically children punished by parents or guardians; school corporal punishment: within schools when students are punished by teachers or school administrators or in the past apprentices by master craftsmen; judicial corporal punishment: as part of a criminal sentence ordered by a court of law.