The physical punishment of children is now outlawed in Wales.
Any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping, and shaking, has been made illegal in the country from Monday.
The “smacking ban”, as it is known, was brought in under the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 and marks the end of the common law defence of “reasonable punishment.”
The law will apply to everyone, even those visiting Wales, as is the case with all Welsh laws.
Parents or anyone who is responsible for a child while the parents are absent can now face criminal or civil charges if they are found to have physically disciplined a young person in any way.
Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh government has insisted the move is about protecting children’s rights.
“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children have the right to be protected from harm and from being hurt and this includes physical punishment," First Minister Mark Drakeford said.
“That right is now enshrined in Welsh law. No more grey areas. No more ‘defence of reasonable punishment.’ That is all in the past,” he added.
“There is no place for physical punishment in a modern Wales.”
Scotland introduced its own ban in November 2020.
Previously in Wales, and as is still the case in England and Northern Ireland, smacking a child was unlawful unless it constituted “reasonable punishment.”
Whether the defence was accepted depended on the circumstances of each case, taking into consideration factors such as the age of the child and the nature of the contact, including whether it left a red mark or was carried out with a fist or implement such as a cane or belt.
