Section 43 of the Criminal Code
Correction of Child by Force
Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of
a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a
pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the
force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.
R.S.C., 1985, c .C-4
Violence as Correction
Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada is a defense to assault that justifies violence against children by teachers and parents in the name of correction. It allows severe spanking, slapping and striking with belts and other objects. Section 43 is harmful and contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has no place in a democratic society that values children.
The January 30, 2004 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on
the constitutionality of section 43 limited the scope of this defence
but did not end it. Limiting legal approval of hitting children
by restricting hitting to certain ages, degrees of force, and parts
of the body is not the solution to the problems posed by this nineteenth
century defence to assault. Legal approval for any hitting of children
is harmful and unjust.
The wording of section 43 of the Code justifying “reasonable” corporal
punishment will remain the same unless and until it is changed
by Parliament. Those who use or support corporal punishment will
continue to judge its acceptability by their own subjective standards
of what is “reasonable”. See Constitutional
Challenge, Comment on Supreme Court Decision for our view of the decision
and its implications. We will continue to advocate complete repeal
of this defence to assaults on children for “correction”.
Our Aim
Our aim is to persuade Parliament and the Courts to end this harmful and unjust
defence.
We invite you to review the information on our web site and join us in advocating the repeal of section 43.
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