Corporal punishment against children in Italy: Some remarks

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO
Author/s Benedetta Polini
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/2
Language Italian Pages 23 P. 162-184 File size 733 KB
DOI 10.3280/SD2022-002007
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Differently from other States in the world and in the European Union, Italy has no general provision on corporal punishment against children. In our country, corporal punishment is banned in schools, while Art. 571 of the Criminal Code provides for the crime of abuse of means of correction. In 1996, the well-known Cambria judgement by the "Corte di Cassazione - Sezione Sesta Penale" stated that corporal punishment is no longer a legitimate disciplinary method on the basis of the right to correction (ius corrigendi). However, corporal punishment in the domestic sphere is not forbidden by law in Italy. This gap risks fueling a culture, also legal, which does not consider corporal punishment as an inappropriate disciplinary means, completely not compatible with positive parenting. The article intends to reconstruct the legal framework on corporal punishment and parenting support policies in some European Union’s Member States beyond Italy (Sweden, France, and Spain). The overall objective is to reflect on the Italian case.

Keywords: Corporal punishment - Children - Parenting support - Families

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Benedetta Polini, Le punizioni corporali nei confronti dei bambini in Italia: alcune note in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO " 2/2022, pp 162-184, DOI: 10.3280/SD2022-002007