Britons Opposed to Banning Parents from Smacking Their Children
Most respondents believe the Scottish regulations on smacking are adequate, and say the ones in place for England and Wales go too far.
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(02/29/12) -
People in Britain are against the complete abolition of corporal punishment in the home, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample of 2,011 British adults, three-in-five respondents (63%) are opposed to banning parents in the UK from smacking their children.
Respondents who claim to have been smacked by their parents or guardians when they were children frequently (63%), occasionally (69%) or once or twice (58%) are more likely to oppose a comprehensive ban. However, those who say they were never smacked by their parents or guardians are more likely to support a ban (52%).
More than half of respondents (53%) agree with existing laws that prohibit smacking in state schools and private schools. The level of agreement with these regulations is higher among respondents who were never smacked at school when they were children (67%).
Under existing guidelines, parents in England and Wales are allowed to “reasonably chastise” their children. However, if a parent smacks a child so hard it leaves a mark, the parent can face up to five years in jail. Half of Britons (49%) think these laws go too far, while 34 per cent consider them adequate, and just 10 per cent say they do not go far enough.
In Scotland, it is illegal for parents to hit a child on the head, shake them or strike them with an implement. Two thirds of respondents in Britain (66%) believe the Scottish laws are adequate, while 15 per cent believe they go too far.
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Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From February 28 to February 29, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,011 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
