The following is a note on various Canadian studies on corporal punishment, section 43, and child abuse. Some American studies are also noted. Other American, British and international research can be accessed through web sites linked to this site.

Spanked children more likely to have sexual problems, Murray Straus, Co-director, Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire-Durham, February 2008. This is a slide presentation to the American Psychological Assn that summarizes the results of four studies by Dr. Straus. The studies are under review for publication. In its Feb 28/08 article on his presentation, USA Today reports that according to Dr. Straus, children whose parents spank or inflict other corporal punishment on them are more likely to have sexual problems later in life, such as a greater chance of physically or verbally coercing a sexual partner, engaging in risky sexual behavior or engaging in masochistic sex, including sexual arousal by spanking.

Parental Corporal Punishment Predicts Behavior Problems in Early Childhood, Matthew K. Mulvaney and Carolyn J. Mebert, September 2007, Journal of Family Psychology, Volume 21, Issue 3, p. 389–397 Two professors from the University of New Hampshire, USA examined data from over a thousand families who have been participating in a national study, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Tracking back to 1991, they found that corporal punishment was associated with poor behavior in children at the age of three and then again at the ages of six and seven, even when differences between families in terms of ethnicity, income, parenting styles, and earlier use of corporal punishment have been taken into account. They therefore conclude that corporal punishment is a definite problem and that teachers, counselors, doctors and others working with children and parents need to do more to discourage it. They also caution that the impact of corporal punishment might be aggravated as children grow older because those with mental health and behavior problems are at greater risk for peer rejection and victimization than other children. Click here for article.

National Survey of Canadians’ Knowledge of the Law on Physical Punishment of Children (Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada), Toronto Public Health, May 2006 This national survey of 2450 adults for Toronto Public Health finds that only 19% of the public are aware of the January 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision. This decision outlines various criteria to be used in deciding the scope and limits of s. 43. Of the 19%, only a small minority is aware of all these criteria. Click here for complete information

Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 2003, Trocme, Tonmyr, Fallon, MacLaurin, et al 2005, Health Canada This study tracked reports of abuse and neglect in 2003 in all provinces except Quebec and is the second such study. It is part of a Health Canada project to collect such data every 5 years and is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada with support from provincial and territorial governments The 2005 report shows an increase of 125% reports over the first study. The researchers indicate that the increase may be due to improved reporting and investigation procedures rather than an actual increase in abuse and neglect. The full report can be read on the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Home environment, income and child behaviour, February 21, 2005, Statistics Canada.  This cycle of the longitudinal survey releases data on 4129 children ranging from 8–19 years of age. Information was gathered from parents about the children’s behaviour at age 2-5 years and from both parents and children about the children’s behaviour at age 10-13. The findings are consistent with the study released Oct 25/04.

Statcan states that while the findings do not prove that punitive parenting causes aggressive behaviour, they reinforce other research showing that such parenting may lead to increased aggression and anxiety and limit pro-social behaviour. See www.statcan.ca/ The Daily, Feb 21/05.

Aggressive Behaviour Outcomes for Young Children: Change in Parenting Environment Predicts Change in Behaviour, October 25, 2004, Statistics Canada. This study is based on data from the 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth conducted by Statistics Canada and Social Development Canada.  Parents of about 2000 children were interviewed for behavioral and emotional information on their children when the children were 2-3 years old and again when they were 8-9 years.

The study concludes that children of parents who use physical punishment or yelling and shouting as punitive discipline are much more likely to engage in aggressive behaviours, such as fighting, bullying and meanness to others. Children in punitive environments at age 2 to 3 years scored 39% higher on a scale of aggressive behaviour than children in non-punitive homes. Children 8 to 9 years scored 83% higher. The study shows a link between childhood aggression and poor outcomes later in life, such as delinquency, crime, poor school results and unemployment. When, however, punitive parenting changes at age 2 to 3 to non-punitive parenting, children score just as low in aggressive behaviour as those in a non-punitive environment. The study was front-page news in many Canadian papers and reinforces earlier research reaching the same conclusion. See www.statcan.ca/ The Daily, Oct. 25/04.

The Economic Costs and Consequences of Child Abuse in Canada, 2003, The Law Commission of Canada. This research paper, funded by the Law Commission, is a collaborative effort between the departments of Economics and Women’s Studies, University of Western Ontario. It measures the economic costs of all forms of child abuse in Canada during 1998 and concludes that child abuse is not only devastating for the individual but also for society as a whole. It estimates the economic costs at $15,705,910,047 annually, broken down as follows:

See the Law Commission website www.lcc.gc.ca for details.

Quebec Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse, Neglect, Abandonment and Serious Behaviour Problems, Tourigny, Mayer, Wright, 2003, centre de liaison sur l'intervention et la prevention psychosociales (CLIPP), Montreal. Studies 9,790 cases reported to Quebec's Director of Youth Protection in Oct/ Nov/ Dec 1998. Among others things, finds that 63% of substantiated physical abuse cases involved physical punishment, that fathers were most often identified as perpetrators of the abuse, and that close to one-quarter of substantiated reports concerned children previously involved with protection services. This first-ever Quebec study can be read on the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare web site www.cecw-cepb.ca

Something to Cry About: An Argument against Corporal Punishment of Children in Canada, Susan M. Turner, PhD, 2002, Wilfred Laurier University Press. Analyzes in a scholarly but readable 236 pages the philosophical basis for the belief in and opposition to corporal punishment of children and concludes that such punishment should not be justified by the law.

The Changing Face of Child Welfare Investigations in Ontario: Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 1993/1998, Trocme, Fallon, MacLaurin, Copp, 2002, Child Welfare League of Canada, Ottawa. Funded in part by Health Canada Analyses child maltreatment investigations in Ontario in 1998 and finds that substantiated cases of physical abuse nearly doubled from an estimated 4,200 in 1993 to 8000 in 1998. 72% of these involved inappropriate punishment. The number of children in the care of Children's Aid Societies increased from 10,000 in 1996 to 17,000 in 1998.

Child Maltreatment in Canada: Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, N. Trocme, PhD, and D. Wolfe, 2001, Health Canada. Studies child maltreatment investigations in Canada during 1998 and estimates there were 42,000 reports of physical abuse. Of these, 14,290 reports were substantiated. Sixty-nine per cent of these involved inappropriate punishment.

Family Violence in Canada, Statistics Canada, 2001. Reports that an average of 42 children under 18 were killed by their parents each year between 1991 and 1999. These were solved homicides - murder, manslaughter or infanticide. They did not include deaths of children where assaults by parents preceded death but were not found as the actual cause, deaths in which the cause could not be determined, accidental deaths under suspicious circumstances, or deaths resulting from criminal negligence. As a result, the annual average underestimates the actual number of deaths of children at the hands of their parents.

Child Death Reviews and Child Mortality Data Collection in Canada, Jan C. Wood and Jane L. Murray, 1999, Health Canada Acknowledges the lack of adequate national statistics on the incidence of child abuse and neglect deaths in Canada, examines the problems involved in collecting such statistics, and reports on the progress made by a Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group established in 1994 to study this issue. The project's objective is to recommend ways to improve collection of these statistics. The review can be read on Health Canada's web site.

Slapping and Spanking in Childhood, Harriet L. MacMillan, MD, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Oct. 5, 1999. Surveys 10,000 Ontario residents and finds that there appears to be a linear association between the frequency of slapping and spanking in childhood and a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse or dependence.

The Unconstitutionality of Section 43 of the Criminal Code: Children's Right to be Protected from Physical Assault, Part 1 and 11, Sharon D. Greene, B.A., M.Sc., LL.B 1998, 41 Criminal Law Quarterly, 288 and 1999 41 Q.L.Q.462 The first thorough constitutional analysis of case law on section 43 and its relation to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Greene concludes that section 43 violates sections 7, 12, and 15 of the Charter and is not saved by section 1.

Survey of Parenting Styles, Statistics Canada, 1998. Surveys 23,000 parents and children in 1994 and 1996 finds that parenting styles had a bigger impact on a child's behaviour than any other factor, that children who did not have positive interaction with parents were twice as likely to have persistent behavioural problems as those who had positive interactions and that almost 27% of the children surveyed had a clinically defined behaviour or learning problem.

" 'He'll learn it on his body' ": Disciplining childhood in Canadian law, Anne McGillivray, B.A., LL.M., 1997, 5 The international Journal of Children's Rights, 193 Professor McGillivray explores the historical, legal and psychological background of the law on corporal punishment and presents a compelling argument that section 43 is a fundamental violation of children's rights and has no place in a free and democratic society.

Corporal Punishment: Research Review and Policy Recommendations, Joan E. Durrant, PhD, C Psych and Linda Rose-Krasnor, PhD, 1995, Health Canada and Justice Canada Finds that corporal punishment is associated with increased levels of aggression, is a predictor of delinquency, violence and crime in later life and a risk factor for child abuse, and concludes that section 43 should be repealed.

Brief to Federal Ministers re: Section 43 of the Criminal Code and the Corporal Punishment of Children, Corinne Robertshaw, BA, LLB, Repeal 43 Committee, April, 1994, Toronto Reviews principal judicial decisions on section 43 since 1899, developments in Europe, arguments for and against repealing section 43, including relevance of the Charter and UNCRC, and lists 18 government sponsored reports on the section. Concludes that section 43 should be repealed. Brief also sent to childcare organizations, MPs and academics concerned about section 43.

Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, N. Trocme, PhD, 1994, Institute for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Analyses child welfare investigations in Ontario in 1993 and estimates that 4,229 substantiated and 5,426 strongly suspected cases of physical abuse were investigated. Of all substantiated cases, 85% involved discipline by corporal punishment. In suspected cases, it was difficult to distinguish between corporal punishment and abuse.

Literature Review of Issues Related to the Use of Corrective Force Against Children, Nanci M. Burns, MSW, 1993, Department of Justice Canada Reviews the literature on physical punishment and finds that overall there are strong indicators that the use of corrective force can result in a myriad of social and behavioral problems for children, adolescents and adults.

R. v K (M): Legitimating Brutality , Anne McGillivray, B.A., LL.M., (1993) 16 Criminal Reports (4th) 125 A powerful indictment of the 1993 Manitoba Court of Appeal decision that acquitted a father of assault on the basis of section 43. Father had kicked and hit his 8-year-old son with sufficient force to leave an imprint of sweater on the boy's skin. Professor McGillivray, University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law, concludes: "It is time to rid the criminal law of (this) unconstitutional and dangerous anachronism".

International Perspectives on Corporal Punishment Legislation: A Review of 12 Industrialized Countries, Nanci M.Burns, MSW, 1992, Department of Justice Canada Reviews the legislation in 12 European and Commonwealth countries, analyses findings, and includes appendices with details of US legislation on corporal punishment in schools and a model English bill to end the reasonable force defence.

Assault, Working Paper 38, 1984, Law Reform Commission of Canada, Ottawa Section C (2) and an Appendix deal with s. 43 (14 pages). The Commission distinguishes between force used in an emergency, for safeguarding others or property, and for chastisement, and suggest that the first two are legal, with or without s. 43. It concludes that ideally a clear stand against violence should be taken and s. 43 abolished. However, the majority of Commissioners feared this would expose families to law enforcement “for every trivial slap or spanking”. While they would like to remove s. 43, they wanted a more satisfactory way of avoiding prosecutions than relying simply on prosecutorial discretion. The minority of Commissioners believed these fears unrealistic.

Child Protection in Canada Discussion Paper, Corinne Robertshaw, BA, LLB, 1981, Health and Welfare Canada Reviews provincial child protection legislation, analyses 54 deaths of children in Canada at the hands of parents/caretakers in 1977 and makes a number of recommendations, including the repeal or amendment of section 43.

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