Highest court outlaws child slapping
The Swiss Federal Court has warned parents that corporal punishment is not an acceptable means of disciplining children. .

ALL PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN (spanking, hitting, slapping, belting, switching, shaking, pinching, ear pulling, etc.) BANNED IN THESE COUNTRIES By statute: Austria Croatia Cyprus Denmark Finland Germany Iceland Israel Latvia Norway Sweden By high court ruling: Italy Switzerland

It ruled on Wednesday that slapping, kicking and ear tugging are punishable offences - if they are administered repeatedly or habitually.

The court made its announcement in a bid to clarify Swiss law, which does not specifically prohibit corporal punishment for children.

Current legislation states that individuals can be punished if they hit someone, regardless of whether a mark is left or not, but does not clarify at which point violence is unacceptable as a form of punishment delivered by adults to children.

Case overturned
The court ruling was prompted by a recent case in canton Vaud, where a father tried to take the partner of his estranged wife to court for hitting and kicking his children, aged nine and 11.

The court rejected the case, judging that a mother’s partner has the right to punish her children, even if he is not the biological father.

The Federal Court has now overturned that decision, deeming that the mother’s partner did commit a punishable act.

European examples
Other European countries, including Germany, have already put laws in place to prohibit all acts of violence against children.

Switzerland itself has considered banning corporal punishment of children in the past.

In 1996, a proposal was put to the government to ban hitting and other degrading forms of punishment. But it was decided that violence as a means of educating children should not be a punishable offence.

swissinfo with agencies

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