Prohibiting corporal punishment of children in Central Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. Progress Report 2014

Hitting people is wrong – and children are people too. Corporal punishment of children breaches their fundamental rights to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality breaches their right to equal protection under the law. Urgent action is needed in every region of the world to respect fully the rights of all children – the smallest and most fragile of people.

This report, published by Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children and  Save the Children, reviews progress towards prohibition of corporal punishment of children in all states and territories in Central/South East Asia and the Pacific – home to almost 590 million children – in the context of follow up to the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children. Opportunities to enact prohibiting legislation are widespread, as laws are being passed aimed at fulfilling states’ obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and addressing the problem of violence against children. The report sets out how to ensure that these reforms lead to protection for all the region’s children from all forms of corporal punishment, in their homes, schools and all other settings.