The first anti-spanking law in the world. Historical background to the Swedish legislation.

In 1979, the International Year of the Child, Sweden became the first country in the world to prohibit all physical punishment of children. That same year, the Swedish Ministry of Justice financed an information campaign on TV and other mass media. The law was discussed in schools. It was advertised on milk cartons and a brochure called “Can you bring up children successfully without smacking and spanking? was distributed, in order to introduce the law and the reasons for it. The brochure also referred to family support services that provide advice and assistance to families and children who find it helpful to talk to someone outside the family. The brochure was disseminated to all households in Sweden and was translated into English, German, French, and Spanish and into some other immigrant languages.