Plunket on Repeal of Section 59

Plunket supports the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act and believes that this change should be supported by comprehensive positive parenting education programmes. Section 59 condones physical punishment and supports a culture of violence against children. This contributes to New Zealand’s appalling rates of child abuse and undermines the human rights of the nation’s children. Repealing section 59 and strengthening efforts to reduce violence will help address child abuse and death by maltreatment by changing attitudes and behaviours associated with the punishment of children. Plunket has worked in partnership with the government and other non-governmental organisations for many years to reduce the incidence of violence against children and to promote positive parenting strategies. Section 59 implies that violence is an expected part of parenting. It sends a message that physical punishment is appropriate, thereby increasing the likelihood of its use and setting the stage for physical abuse. As such, retaining section 59 is inconsistent with efforts to reduce interpersonal violence and create safer communities for children. Repealing section 59 would enable the government to promote consistent messages that support parents to choose non-violent parenting techniques, through programmes such as SKIP. These programmes support optimal child development and, we believe, will eventually contribute to less violence in society overall. Repealing section 59 is about discouraging the use of physical punishment but it is not anti-discipline or unsupportive of parents. It would support parents to use more effective strategies for disciplining their children and ensure consistent messages about the inappropriateness of violence so that we can achieve social change and break the cycles of violence. The public debate about the repeal of section 59 has confused many of the facts by suggesting that the removal of the defence provided by section 59 would introduce a “ban on smacking” and that parents would be unnecessarily criminalised. However, on the basis of our current understanding, there is nothing for parents to fear from repeal of section 59.