Moldova to ban corporal punishment of children via law

The Republic of Moldova is due to ban through law, until 2009, all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment. These recommendations are part of the UN Global Study on violence against children, made public at the UN General assembly that was held on 11 October 2006. UN initiative is backed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Council of Europe. The new program of the Council of Europe, with a three-year implementation term, under the slogan “Europe For Children, 2006-2009”, includes also the acceleration of banning and excluding the corporal punishment in the 46 member countries. Till now, only 14 of 46 member states of EC have banned through law the bodily punishment of child and 7 countries have already joined this reform. Besides the lack of laws in this domain, Moldova has not official statistics that would show the real number of children spanked in the family and out of. The reports of the General Prosecutor’s office show that the number of grave and extremely grave cases of maltreating the children by their own parents is on increase every year. A survey carried out in 2004 by the Government, with the UNICEF support, “The care and early development of children in Moldova”, shows that 39.6% of parents with children under 7 spank their children as punishment. 86% of the surveyed parents said that spanking makes children obey and respect them; 13% of the parents beat their children because they were also beaten in turn; and 12% of the parents said that they spank their children because they “love them and wish the best”. The campaign “Childhood without Violence”, started this autumn in Moldova by the Ministry of Education and Youth, National Council for Protection of Child’s Rights, UNICEF Representation in Moldova and National Center for Prevention of Child Abuse, commits itself to change the perception of people in paternal spanking, which is not a way of disciplining the child, but a form of violence against child, sometimes with severe consequences for his development.