New Zealand passes smacking bill
A law that outlaws child beating but does not criminalise parents who use “inconsequential force” was overwhelmingly passed in New Zealand today.
The new law closed a legal loophole in the country’s Crimes Act that allowed “reasonable force” to be used by parents to discipline a child.
That provision had been used as a successful legal defence in child abuse cases in New Zealand courts.
The new law makes it an offence for parents to use force to discipline children; however, it gives police the discretion “not to prosecute complaints ... involving the use of force against a child where the offence is considered so inconsequential there is no public interest in proceeding with a prosecution”.
