The foreign affairs and education ministries agree it’s time to outlaw the practice of corporal punishment in homes.
They made the call at Wednesday’s preparatory session for the upcoming Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children.
More from Gianni Willie in this report.
To spare the rod or spoil the child? That is the question.
The issue will be on the agenda at the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, scheduled to be held in Bogota, Colombia in November.
Speaking at Wednesday’s preparatory session, State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, said it’s time to push back against cultural norms.
Mr. Terrelonge, who’s a former State Minister of Education, says discipline is not to be equated with abusive language or actions.
And Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Kasan Troupe, says acts of violence against children have negative impacts on society as a whole.
In May, justice minister, Delroy Chuck, told a child diversion forum that the government plans to outlaw corporal punishment in homes.
He said this would build on a similar ban imposed in schools.
Minister Chuck’s comments sparked public outrage.
At that time, Education Minister, Fayval Williams, declared that the government had not made a decision to ban corporal punishment in homes.
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