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21 December 2007
MADRID – Congress on Thursday revoked two articles of Spain’s Civil Code that gave parents the right to spank their children as a form of punishment. The change eliminates wording allowing parents to "punish [children] reasonably and moderately," which had been interpreted as permitting actual blows. Instead, the Civil Code now instructs parents to punish their children with "respect for their physical and psychological integrity."
Conservative legislators voted against the amendment, which was debated alongside a new law on international adoptions, arguing it was neither the time nor the place for the issue to be addressed. Leftist lawmakers supported the change, arguing that international organisations, including UN bodies, have urged countries to eliminate laws allowing children to be subjected to physical punishment.
[Copyright EL PAÍS, SL. 2007]
Subject: Spanish news