An impact assessment of Scotland’s law criminalising smacking is long overdue, The Christian Institute has told the Scottish Government.
Writing to the Family Law Unit, the Institute pointed out to Ministers that new laws are normally scrutinised three to five years after enactment. While the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act came into force almost six years ago, no review has taken place.
In 2019, before the Bill was approved, almost 90 percent of public submissions were opposed to removing the defence of reasonable chastisement and making smacking a criminal offence.
In his letter, the CI’s Deputy Director Simon Calvert notes that it was the Scottish Government’s intent in 2020 to monitor “the impact of the legislation”, possibly through “a research project”.
“Given this stated intention,” he observes, “it is difficult to see why this review has not yet been published”. He also points to an official report into similar legislation in Wales, which came into force almost a year and half after the Scottish Act.
Citing Scottish Government evidence from stakeholder focus groups, obtained through freedom of information requests, Mr Calvert identified three areas of concern regarding the smacking ban: that Government support was inadequate; that the instigation of criminal inquiries into parents “took precedence over welfare and protection”; and that resources have been stretched in order to meet the demands of the Act.
He concluded: “Could you please let us know when you intend to publish your report on the impact of the Act?”
Earlier this year, the CI — which spearheads the Be Reasonable campaign — published a comprehensive report showing that there is no evidence smacking causes lasting harm to children, and also warned that a ban risks criminalising loving parents and diverting resources away from children’s services.
In summarising the report’s key findings, it noted that while research into the effects of smacking has sometimes identified associations between physical punishment and negative outcomes like aggression or low self-esteem, causation has never been proven.
In contrast, the study’s authors found that in loving homes mild discipline may be linked to neutral or even positive outcomes, as parental warmth eliminates potential negative effects.
The CI also found that evidence on the impact of smacking was lacking, as many studies “measure outcomes only at very young ages (three to five years old), leaving gaps in understanding long-term effects”.
Sarah Aiken, James Kennedy and Alison Bowie
Our comprehensive new report finds that the evidence does not support claims that mild smacking causes harm to children, particularly when delivered in the context of warm and loving parenting.