Ending scourge of corporal punishment

The Government’s recent decision to approve an amendment to the Penal Code that seeks to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings is a monumental and long-overdue step. If passed, this legislation will finally bring Sri Lanka into full alignment with international standards, especially the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the country ratified decades ago.

For too long, the spectre of corporal punishment has lingered in our homes, classrooms, and institutions under the guise of “discipline.” While judicial corporal punishment was repealed in 2005, its continued existence in domestic and educational settings exposes children to violence disguised as guidance. The use of the cane in schools remains banned only by ministerial circular, a directive without the full force of law, leaving room for impunity and inconsistency. Meanwhile, within homes, parents and caregivers still legally resort to physical punishment, protected by archaic provisions in the Penal Code that permit the use of “reasonable” force for correction.

The proposed Penal Code (Amendment) Bill seeks to close these loopholes once and for all. It aims to criminalise corporal punishment in every setting, including school, home, or institution, making it clear that no act of violence against a child can be justified in the name of discipline. This change is not merely legal, it is moral, psychological, and deeply cultural. It challenges an entrenched belief that obedience can be beaten into a child.

Those who defend corporal punishment as a tool for discipline are gravely mistaken. While it may enforce short-term compliance, born out of fear rather than respect, it ultimately teaches all the wrong lessons. When a teacher, parent, or caregiver resorts to violence to correct a child, they send a dangerous message that power gives one the right to harm. The child learns submission, not understanding, silence, not self-control and fear, not moral reasoning.

The long-term consequences are devastating. Children who grow up under the shadow of corporal punishment often internalise violence as a legitimate means of control. As adults, they may replicate the same abusive patterns whether toward their own children and their spouses, or others weaker than themselves. The result is a cycle of violence that perpetuates through generations. Studies across the world have consistently shown that corporal punishment increases aggression, anxiety, depression, and antisocial behaviour in children. It does not build character but breaks it.

True discipline is not born of fear but of understanding, empathy, and consistent guidance. Teachers and parents must be empowered with positive, non-violent methods of behaviour management and techniques that build trust and self-esteem rather than resentment and trauma.

This moment is not just about legal reform but an important moment for introspection at a national level. For a country that thrives on violence and intolerance it is a moment to take a kinder path. Corporal punishment is a relic of a darker past, a barbaric and outdated method that has no place in modern educational or home settings. The passage of the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill will not only fulfil our international obligations but will also mark a defining moment in our thinking as a society.

The understanding that strength lies not in its power to punish, but in its capacity to nurture will serve Sri Lanka in multiple spheres.