Help Us Ban Corporal Punishment From All Queensland Schools
To date, 132 countries including New Zealand, have legally banned teachers from hitting children. Every Australian state and territory has followed suit, except QLD.
Contact the QLD Minister for Education, Grace Grace, express your concerns, and ask her why school physical punishment is still legal!
Twenty-five years ago, NSW legally banned corporal
punishment in all of its schools.
But in QLD schools, it remains a legal practice.
Why is that, Minister?
Grace Grace, Minister for Education says
“21st Century students need a 21st Century education, not a 1950s one”.
So why is the cane still legal, Minister?
Education Minister Grace Grace says
“All children deserve a world class education”.
But the cane is still legal?
Why is that Minister Grace Grace?
Teachers can legally hit and hurt students.
But the force used must be ‘reasonable’.
What is ‘reasonable force’, Minister?
Corporal Punishment in Schools
To date, 132 countries have legally banned teachers from hitting children. In Australia, Queensland is the only state not to have done so. Government policy bans this form of punishment in state schools but it is still a legal practice in all schools.
Section 280 of the QLD Criminal Code Act 1899 permits a teacher to use physical force on a child without being criminally liable for any adverse effect that force may have on that child. However, there is one exception.
A teacher can only have applied “reasonable” force to a child’s body and whether or not reasonable force was used is a question of fact to be determined by a jury or magistrate. It is not determined by the parent of the injured child.
What Must the Education Minister Do?
In 2020, no level of force is “reasonable” for the purpose of punishing a school child. A school student should never be deliberately hit and hurt by a teacher.
The Minister for Education, Grace Grace, has the power to legally ban physical punishment from all schools. Her Department does not.
A ban could be implemented through Government regulation and/or by an amendment to an Act of Parliament.
Remember, the Department does not make policy it only implements Government policy.
Children Deserve Compassion and Care
Using physical force to punish school children has been found to have adverse effects on their learning and growth. Corporal punishment breaches a child’s right to be valued and respected for their own sake, to determine what happens to their body and to have equal protection under the law.
International law requires that students should be taught in a safe and violence-free environment and no professional educator or academic supports this archaic practice, so why is it still legal?
A more compassionate educational system benefits everyone, including parents and communities.
Stand With Us
We believe that every parent and concerned adult can make a positive difference to a child’s life. Together, we can help remove any possibility that school corporal punishment is ever used again. If you need more information or you would like to know how you can help, please send us an email today.
