نشریه حقوق بشر
پیاپی 12 (پاییز و زمستان 1390)

One of the challenging issues which families and societies face in rearing and upbringing is how to treat children’s misbehavior In Islamic perspective, especially Shiite jurisprudence, which is considered to be the main source of legislation in the Islamic republic of Iran, in addition to paying special attention to children’s education and their development and happiness, much emphasis has been put on their dignity, being kind to them, their expedience, preventing any harm and injury to them. Also, it is prohibited to punish and abuse them. However, in some cases corporal punishment of children is permissible and permitted because of their expedience. On the contrary, the international human rights system seeks to eliminate the use of all forms of corporal punishment from all societies. Using different types of instruments and documents, it tries to promote this view. It considers corporal punishment as being against the child’s human dignity and physical integrity. Furthermore, sometimes it is considered inhumane, cruel and humiliating. Therefore, initially and apparently, the two approaches appear to be contradictory. Thus, we try to explain the true nature of the two approaches and to provide some solutions for their proximity considering the interests of the society as well as children' s expedience, interests, education, rights and development.

Article 59, paragraph 1 of the Islamic penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes the parental treatment in the form of punishment, as a justification as long as it is reasonable. This legal right of parents to punish their children is stated as a general rule and as the article 167 of the constitution sets it out, the elaboration of any generality has to be settled by referring to Shariah where there are four restrictions on the corporal punishment of children;(a) it is limited to the ages of 7,8 or 10; (b) it is applied when children fail to perform prayers; (c) it is applied without any injury and; (d) it should involve no risks. This article will elaborate on these limits.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran in which a Muslim jurist has absolute authority over all its pillars and affairs, the supreme leader’s views play an important role both directly in determining the criminal policy for confronting and preventing behavioral and moral corruptions (as a part of general policies of system), and indirectly in passing and approving laws in accordance and agreement with the standards of Islamic Shariah. Disciplining and punishing children as a part of criminal policy in the jurisprudential teachings of Islam are recognized as a right for parents and the approved laws also confirm this. However, restrictions such as observing the limits of custom and expediency are the requirements for exercising this right that has a great influence on adjusting it and protecting children. Disciplining child offenders by the courts and juvenile centers is one of the mechanisms that govern the criminal policy to confront the abnormal behavior of children and in fact replace corporal punishment and rough behavior which result in normal controlled reactions. In the international view, adoption of CRC (Convention on the Rights of Child) by the Islamic Republic of Iran with reservations can raise some misconceptions regarding the contradiction between domestic law and religious opinions on the matter with international law and may cast doubt on its international commitments. In addition to describing the legal status of corporal punishment of children, this study will reveal the position of the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards this important international document more than before.

Adult behavior has a profound effect on the personality and habits developed in children. Corporal punishment means the use of physical force to cause pain without injury, to discipline - ' behavior correction or control’- children. Corporal punishment of children can both have short-term and long-term harmful effects on their body and mind. In general, parents’ frequent use of corporal punishment is likely to be due to the fact that they may have experienced depression, drug abuse, alcohol use, quarrels, sexual abuse and adopting an authoritarian parenting style. Also, a high number of corporal punishment cases are reported to have occurred in families with low income and young parents. In addition, children experiencing severe corporal punishment and physical violence receive less love and warmth from other members of the family during childhood. These issues require that corporal punishment and the factors influencing it be discussed and explored scientifically and systematically. In this paper, following an introduction, a literature review of the empirical research on corporal punishment and root causes and experiential factors influencing it as well as the psychological and physical abuse of children will be dealt with. The second part will address theories explaining violence and corporal punishment including the "theory of interaction", "theory of personal ecology", "socio-cultural theory" and "structural approach". The last part of the article, as a general conclusion, offers some suggestions and guidelines.

Corporal punishment is one way of disciplining children which has been used by parents and child care takers over long centuries and there are still children who experience and fear violence. Studies indicate that corporal punishment is an important factor in the development of violent attitudes and actions and it has a devastating impact on an individual’s childhood and life. As a result, it has a detrimental effect on development of children and formation of proper norms of discipline. Furthermore, beating children as a factor involving risks can cause physical and psychological harms and even lead to a child‘s death. Thus, it violates the child fundamental rights such as inherent dignity. Nevertheless, corporal punishment is a legal and common practice in many countries and sometimes religion is used to justify its validity. Therefore, to tackle this concern and global problem, we need to identify its root causes and then take measures to eliminate all forms of it. This article is an attempt to explore the causes and consequences of corporal punishment of children and to offer solutions regarding how to tackle this problem.

How adults behave has a profound impact on children’s personality and their acquired habits. The Persian equivalent of punishment means to make somebody aware of something and to wake someone up. However, corporal punishment means using physical force to cause pain without any injury in order to discipline (behavior correction and control) children. Corporal punishment is considered as a form of child abuse and it is the most common form of violence in the family which violates the rights of the child. Psychologies usually do not approve of corporal punishment. Corporal punishment has a short-term and long-term destructive impact on both the body and mind of the child. It can have negative effects such as fear, not learning the proper behavior, justifying hurting others, being aggressive towards the punisher, showing improper reactions and being a wrong model for other. Research studies indicate that house-keeping mothers with low level of education are more likely to use corporal punishment. And behavioral problems such as physical and verbal aggression, non-cooperativeness are more in children punished corporally by their parents than in those who are not punished. Therefore, educating parents regarding the bad impact of corporal punishment on children’s body and mind as well as educating them concerning the positive ways of rearing children can be effective in reducing the use of corporal punishment. Furthermore, other substitutes for corporal punishment can be saturation, passage of time, reinforcement of the incompatible behavior and turning a blind eye on misbehavior.