Scotland set to be the first UK country to ban smacking children

3 October 2019, 08:49 | Updated: 3 October 2019, 08:52

There have been calls for England and Wales to follow suit in making smacking kids a criminal offence

Scotland will become the first country in the UK to make it illegal to smack children.

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At present, parents are allowed to use 'reasonable' physical force to discipline kids across the UK - but the Scottish government are now moving to give children the same protection as adults from physical force.

A vote on the proposed ban will take place this afternoon in the Scottish parliament, and it's expected to receive an overwhelming majority by MSPs.

The bill was first introduced by John Finnie, a Green MP, and it was backed by both his party and Labour and The Lib Dems. The Conservative Party, however, opposed.

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John Finnie said it was 'staggering' that children don't have the same protection as adults from assault.

He added: "Physical punishment has no place in 21st Century Scotland. The international evidence tells us that it can have serious adverse impacts on children, and that it is not an effective."

Sweden became the first country to ban smacking in 1979, and there are calls for the rest of the UK for follow suit.

Wales is close to an outright ban, with a bill currently going through the Welsh Assembly.

The Association of Educational Psychologists are calling on England to do the same, arguing that smacking is harmful to children's mental health.

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