SFU criminology graduand seeks abolition of corporal punishment of childred
From web: SFU criminology graduand seeks abolition of corporal punishment of childred
September 22, 2000
SFU school of criminology graduand Adamira Tijerino hopes her MA thesis will help an Ontario-based child advocacy group obtain the abolition of corporal punishment of children in Canada’s highest court. Tijerino, who graduates this fall, says section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code implicitly legalizes the practice. The Canadian Foundation for Youth and Children is appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada a recent Ontario Supreme Court decision that threw out its application to have section 43 struck down. The child advocacy group had argued that section 43 is a violation of children’s fundamental rights to protection from emotional, psychological and physical harm under section 7 of the Charter of Rights. The group also maintained that section 43 discriminates against children under section 15 of the Charter by denying them the same legal protection against physical assault that is accorded adults.
Tijerino’s thesis, Section 43 of the C.C.C. and the Constitutionality of the Corporal Punishment of Children: Legal and Policy Issues, uses similar evidence to support the abolition of section 43. The SFU student says a lawyer for the Canadian Foundation for Youth and Children wants to review her thesis, which she successfully defended this summer.
“My arguments for the abolition of section 43 are based on the findings of 45 empirical studies, 20 court cases, and extensive literature review articles. They indicate that corporal punishment of children doesn’t ensure their long-term compliance, but rather it may cause them life long physical, psychological, and emotional harm, and in some cases it may result in tragic consequences-such as the death of the child,” says Tijerino.
The graduand’s thesis also refers to several countries, including Sweden, where the abolition of corporal punishment has led to a
significant decrease in the acceptance and use of physical punishment of children. In her final arguments, Tijerino refers to some policy implications of the abolition of section 43. She proposes that any legal changes need to be accompanied by increased parental support in the form of education, daycare and treatment.
A resident of Burnaby, Tijerino became interested in family violence issues as a teenager growing up in Honduras. “Articles about children being sexually and physically abused in Honduras and my exposure to this issue through the B.C. Institute Against Family Violence prompted me to take a closer look at it,” explains Tijerino.
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CONTACT: Adamira Tijerino, adamira@direct.ca
Carol Thorbes, media/pr, 291-3035