Concerned calls to NSPCC helpline over children being physically punished triple in a year
22 August 2024, 07:07
Calls to the NSPCC's helpline over children being smacked and hit have tripled in a year - as the charity calls on the Government to close legal loopholes.
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Calls to the charity's helpline by concerned adults over child experiencing physical punishment tripled last year compared to numbers seen the previous year.
It said contacts where physical punishment was mentioned had soared from 447 in the 12 months to March 2023, to 1,451 in the year to March 2024.
The NSPCC also revealed that 45% of all calls made to the helpline were serious enough to require a referral to social services or police.
The head of the children's charity says it's time for politicians to deliver "a long overdue change in the law".
Now, the charity has called on new Government to scrap the legal defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ in a bid to help children.
They hope it will end the use of physical punishment against children.
It follows a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the NSPCC, which showed rising levels of support for giving children the same legal protection as adults against physical punishment - from 67% in 2023 to 71% in 2024.
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Sir Peter Wanless, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “It is hugely concerning that calls to our Helpline about adults using physical measures to punish their children have tripled in the past year.
“Mounting evidence shows that physically disciplining children can be damaging and counterproductive. A long over-due change in the law to prevent physical punishment of children must be delivered by our political leaders.
“The new UK Government have an opportunity to show they are committed to child protection and remove this legal anomaly which would end the use of physical punishment across the UK once and for all.”
