Committee to Repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada
The Repeal 43 Committee is a national, voluntary committee of lawyers, paediatricians, social workers and educators formed in 1994 to advocate repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
It is an offence under our Criminal Code to use force against anyone without their consent. This right to personal security is the most fundamental of all human rights. It is a protection against assault that all adults take for granted.
Children do not have the full benefit of this protection because section 43 of the Criminal Code justifies hitting children for disciplinary or "correction" reasons. This violates a child's right to the equal protection and benefit of the law guaranteed by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It contravenes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child. It violates a child's dignity and shows a lack of respect. It
can lead to serious physical and emotional harm.
www.Repeal43.org
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Spanking Doesn't Work - Learn How to Parent
International Spank Out Day - April 30th
Mark your calendar
International SpankOut Day was initiated in 1998 by EPOCH-USA to bring widespread attention to the need to end physical punishment of children and to provide educational information to parents and caregivers about non-violent alternatives. Over 500 informational events and programmes have been held in the US and in other countries where it is sometimes called "no hitting day", "no smacking day" or "day of non-violence for children".
The Canadian Children's Rights Council would like to have 365 "SpankOut Days" each year.
Spanking Doesn't Work - Learn to parent
Spanking is not an effective form of discipline, even though some people may think it is.
Spanking can lead to anger and resentment and can cause children to lose trust in their parents.
Spanking teaches that hitting others is okay. In the long run, spanking makes children's behaviour worse, not better.
What Does Work?
What works is to build your child's confidence and
problem-solving skills. It is important to figure out
the reasons for your child's behaviour such as:
boredom tiredness hunger
frustration restlessness
lack of words for feelings
misunderstanding
discouragement fear
illness
physical pain
sudden interruption of an
activity.
Toddlers Want to Touch Everything
It's how they get to know the world. Slapping a child's hand teaches the child to fear his or her world, not to explore and understand it. The use of time-out is not appropriate for children under two.
Things to try: Put dangerous things out of reach
shift your child's attention with a safe toy
use
words like “hot,” “sharp,” “ouch” to teach about
danger
watch your child closely
always make
sure your child is in a safe place where you can see
him or her.
Is Your Pre-schooler having Tantrums?
Often, young children have tantrums because they are frustrated and cannot control their feelings. They can be frightened by their tantrums. Spanking them may only frighten them more.
Things to try: Stay close by keep your child safe stay calm and quiet take deep breaths. When he or she is calm, use words like “You were mad.” Show your child how to handle angry feeings without yelling or hitting
Ways to Celebrate International Spank Out Day in Your Community
You can do this!
- Host a Spank Out Day special event.
Take a look at what organizations did in 2006 in the
U.S.A. You can do this with your neighbours, at
your temple, church, synagogue....you get the idea.
- Distribute literature promoting the stop
spanking theme to everyone you know personally and to
organizations to which you belong. The free
Health Canada publication "What's wrong with Spanking?
- PDF file"
can be download from this website site
in pdf format (800kb). Print it off and give it out
at work. Ask your employer to distribute a copy to every
employee. Note the "Parent Help Line" listed in the
brochure is no longer in service.
- Email everyone you know. Cut and Paste the
following in your email:
email subject: It's International Spank Out Day - April 30th. Hitting kids is wrong!
email body:
_________
Hitting kids is wrong! I support International Spank Out Day!
I support the repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada which still allows corporal punishment of Canadian children. You can read about the Supreme Court of Canada corporal punishment decision at: Supreme Court of Canada - Corporal Punishment of Children
Please read the free Health Canada publication "What's wrong with Spanking? - Pdf file (800kb)" which can be download from the website of the Canadian Children's Rights Council at www.CanadianCRC.com
Please send this email to everyone you know and spread the word!
_________ - Read the Canadian Children's Rights Council
position paper on effective child discipline
- Submit a public service announcement or press release to
local media. Just look up your community's newspaper,
radio or television addresses in the phone book or on
the internet; fill in the blanks on our sample materials;
and mail or e-mail them.
- Submit a newsletter article or copies of the article below
"to your civic group, school or church.
- Write to your MP or the Prime Minister of Canada about banning corporal
punishment in the Criminal Code of Canada.
- Have your mayor, city council or premier sign a
proclamation announcing SpankOut Day in your city,
territory or province. Fill in the blanks on our
Sample letter
- Send your letters to the Prime Minister of Canada and every
member of the House of Commons and the Senate
of Canada. Remember you can send letters to MPs and
Senators free, no postage required.
- Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbours and
co-workers about using positive, non-violent ways to
teach and discipline children.
How to Talk about Spanking
- Have your mayor, city council or governor sign a
proclamation announcing SpankOut Day in your city or
state. Fill in the blanks on our
Proclamation Request Letter Sample
- Get your town / city council to adopt a
resolution calling for a Spank-Free town.
- Here are some
ideas for activities in faith communities.
- Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbours and
co-workers about using positive, non-violent ways to
teach and discipline children.
- Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbours and
co-workers about using positive, non-violent ways to
teach and discipline children.
- Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbours and
co-workers about using positive, non-violent ways to
teach and discipline children.
a group you belong to write a letter to the Repeal 43
Committee endorsing the position of the
Repeal43 Committee ,
the committee to repeal section 43 of the Criminal Code
of Canada which allows assaulting children to discipline
them ( see the right sidebar for the Repeal 43 Committee).
- Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbours and
co-workers about using positive, non-violent ways to
teach and discipline children.
- Read our web pages about the decision of the Supreme
Court of Canada who decided to continue to allow assaulting
children to discipline them
More ...
Scholarly Submission to the Canadian Children's Rights Council
University Paper
The Issue of Corporal Punishment
By Stacey McDonald, student, Cape Breton University, November 25th, 2005
The purpose of this paper is to examine the question of whether the practice of corporal punishment in law should be made illegal in Canada. The question is this: in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, should Canada take steps to make the physical punishment of children even light spanking against the law. Corporal punishment is described in Katherine Covell & R. Brian Howes book, The Challenge of Children's Rights for Canada as any form of physical behaviour used to discipline a child that is not severe enough to be classified as abuse(70). Corporal punishment, or spanking, is problematic because people have different versions of light spanking; there is no universal code or form of light spanking. What one considers light spanking, another may consider extremely harsh. More ..
Make up an Event Announcement
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT (You may want to submit
the Canadian Children's Rights Council International Spank Out Day
Press Release with this announcement).
Local Contact: [Your name, organization, phone, email]
National Contact: The Canadian Children's Rights Council
- Toronto, ON 416-410-6858 -
WHAT: To celebrate International Spank Out Day in [name of
your community], [name of your organization] is hosting [name of
your event]. [Brief description of your event].
WHERE: [event location, address]
WHEN: [date and time]
WHO: [who is invited...the target audience for your event]
WHY: International Spank Out Day was initiated in 1998 to
give widespread attention to the need to end corporal punishment
of children and to promote non-violent ways of teaching children
appropriate behaviour.
FOR INFO: Call [name of your organization] at [your phone]
or visit [your web site]
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
London, England
www.endcorporalpunishment.org
This site tracks and summarizes major world developments in ending
legal support for corporal punishment in the home and school. It
was launched in 2001 and is endorsed by UNICEF and UNESCO.
SPANK OUT DAY - USA EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
The Center for Effective Discipline - U.S.A.
Read all about what's happening for International Spank Out Day in the U.S.A.
155 W. Main Street, #1603
Columbus, OH 43215
Tel: 614 221 8829
Email: info@stophitting.org
Website: www.stophitting.org
