Issues of Corporal Punishment - Research Paper Example

?Corporal Punishment Corporal Punishment Introduction The word corporal punishment is derived from the Latin word called corpus which even means body. Corporal Punishment refers to the physical or bodily coercion that leads to trauma or defecting of the physical being. In corporal punishment an individual is subjected to physical infliction of pain by the court of law. Prior to the eighth amendment, corporal punishment even included certain elements of death penalty or capital penalty levied by the law. Later the 8th amendment changed the aspects of death penalty and banned any sort of needless torture or coercion to the individual being executed. According to Farrell, the existence of corporal punishment has diminished in Western society, but the practice is still continued in non-western societies, and the politicians of the western society keep on trying to making this punishment method a part of their legal system. Corporal punishment has existed in schooling systems and questions have been raised against and support has been given in the favour of corporal punishment in educational institutes. Activities that are categorized as Corporal punishment includes: whipping, gagging, flogging etc. These activities were practiced in US as well as Europeans nations for several years. Graeme Newman, a supporter of Corporal Punishment has stated in his work that activities such as electric shocks that are listed under the corporal punishment regime should be assigned for even smaller degree of crimes (Howard, 2001, p.259). He supports this kind of punishment over prison period because he believes that this punishment is equal to the crime committed and prison period cannot be compare to the crime committed. He is even in favour of corporal punishment as he believes that punishment has lower economic costs as compared to prison period. Body History The history of corporal punishment can be traced back to the period of tenth century and its existence can be traced in the educational and legal system of Rome and Egypt. Certain nations were highly popular for using such way of punishing individuals, one of such nations was Sparta, and during this period this means of penalizing individuals was most commonly used. During the Roman period the minimum corporal punishment assigned to an individual was forty counts of strokes with a whip or lash on the back and in certain cases fasces were applied on an individual’s buttocks. Such punished were carried to the extent of making the criminal bleed and these punishments were made public with the objective of creating an example out of these punishments and to inflict fear in the citizens. During the 5th and the 15th century, same practices were conducted and encouraged by the churches of that period in Europe. Due to the educational system’s close attachment to the churches of that period, these methods of disciplining individuals were even adopted by educational institutes. This treatment was never opposed before the 11th century, during 11th century, it gain criticism as it was being used continuously to discipline children and the degree of this punishment was considered very high. Corporal punishment experienced a complete switch during the 16th century. During this period these punishments were made available for the public’s eyes to inflict fear in those who have never committed a crime or who were potential future criminals. During this period Roger Ascham was one of those who criticized the use of corporal punishment in educational institutes. Another popular criticizer was John Locke, he openly criticized its use in educational institutes and due to his continuous criticism, this way of penalizing children in educational institutes was banned by the policy makers and educators of Poland during 1783 and Poland gained recognition as the first country every to do so (Hastings, 1971, p.144). This way of punishing individuals gained further criticism during the 18th century by policy makers and philosophers, they believed that this method of punishment only have a short term adverse effect and cannot lead to change in behaviour for a longer period of time. These criticizers focused on the point of making punishment as way of bringing positive change rather than revenge. One such criticizer emphasized on the use of prisons and making criminals serve prison time where they are under constant supervision. Due to such criticism, the use of corporal punishment during the wake of 19th century started declining in Europeans as well as American nations. The criticism on corporal punishment elevated as cases of death started appearing due to this punishment, the two notable cases due o which this means of punishment gained more criticism were the demise of Reginal Cancellor caused due to excessive beating by the school teacher and the demise of Private Frederick John White caused due to military flogging during 1846 and 1860s (Gibson, 1979). After such cases, policy makers made heavy changes to the legal use of corporal punishment in various settings. During the 1870s the US court of law even overruled the use of corporal punishment by husbands to control his wife and during 91 similar rules was abolished in United Kingdom. During the early 20th century, UK even abolished the sentencing of an individual to corporal punishment; the same rules were even banned in other European nations before the 20th century. During the 1980s, both the US and the UK abolished the use of Corporal Punishment in educational institutes. Consequences According to the study conducted by Dr. Straus, corporal punishment is one form of physical abuse and extended version of corporal punishment should be treated as physical abuse as it has several further consequences on the cognition of an individual. According to Roger Bybee, corporal punishment leads to violence and those who are violated end up being violent in future (Pagelow, 1984, p.353). According to Dr. Straus study, if a child does not comply with his/her parents when they use legal form of corporal punishment and if he rebels, parents become more aggressive and they unintentionally cross the limitation of legal corporal punishment and are involved in the act of physical abuse of children (Mitchell, 2008). When a child is subjected to corporal punishment, he internalizes that this kind of treatment is acceptable and may cause the same behaviour in future and the way he may behave might be more aggressive than the way he was treated. If the child accepts that the person who is subjecting him to corporal punishment is correct in doing so, he might even accept corporal punishment and might cause the same behaviour. Dr. Straus studies even show that those adults that have been subjected to the activities included in corporal punishment during their childhood are more likely to treat their children and other in the same way or in a more aggressive manner which will categorize their actions as physical abuse. In certain cases when parents use this form of punishments, child fails to comply and in return may make similar moves, which increases the frustration of the parents and they might increase the severity of the punishment. Dr. Straus’ study even showed that people who have experienced corporal punishment are suicidal and quite depressed and as a consequence fail to gain employment. His studies even prove that those individuals who have been a subject of this kind of treatment may treat their children, wife and other relatives in the similar manner and may become a part of criminal activities such as assault and rape. Addressing the Issue Keeping in view the negative consequences of corporal punishment on children and adults, it is in the best interest of the society to use such methods of punishment that are less violent or not at all violent. The impact of non-violent punishment methods will be such that individuals will learn how to empathize with others and will be careful while treating others for their wrong doings. Children learn from the activities conducted by parents, if children observe their parents conducting behaviour regarded as corporal punishment, they will accept that behaviour, while on the other hand if children observe their parents treating others and them in a non-violent manner, they will accept that behaviour and follow the same in future. Violent behaviour is an anti-social act, thus parents need to avoid usage of such behaviours if they want their children to act against behaviours recognized as anti-social. Policy makers can make a huge difference by banning corporal punishment at all fronts including organizations, educational institutes and religious institutes. Policy makers need to understand that corporal punishment is not a way to solve crime issues, rather it is a method of increasing criminal acts in the society and this kind of behaviour needs to be banned. Conclusion The existence of Corporal Punishment can be traced back to the early Roman period; increase in this kind of treatment took place during the 5th and the 15th century. After the 11th century, this kind of treatment started gaining heavy criticism and by the 19th and the 20th century, this punishment was banned. Corporal treatment has several negative effects, Dr. Straus’ study proves that corporal penalty results in long-term negative consequences and behaviour that is regarded as physical abuse and the best way to solve the issues created by corporal treatment is to use non-violent methods of punishment. References Mitchell, L. (2008). Corporal punishment and low-income mothers: The role of family structure, race, and class in America. Amherst, N.Y: Cambria Press. Pagelow, M. D., & Pagelow, L. W. (1984). Family violence. New York: Praeger. Gibson, I. (1979). The English vice: Beating, sex and shame in Victorian England and after. London: Duckworth. Hastings, N., & Schwieso, J. (1987). New directions in educational psychology: 2. Behaviour and motivation in the classroom. London: Falmer Press. Howard, G. J., & Newman, G. R. (2001). Varieties of comparative criminology. Leiden: Brill. Read More