A Generation without Smacking. The impact of Sweden’s ban against physical punishment

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which every European country has accepted, strengthens the position of children within the family and in society as a whole. Everyone who meets a child has the responsibility to treat the child with respect. Children are in a vulnerable situation in relation to adults, and therefore they must be guaranteed a safe childhood: a childhood without violence including physical chastisement. Professor Joan E Durrant, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Family Studies at the University of Manitoba, presents in this document important information on the impact of Swedish legislation banishing physical punishment in 1979.