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END PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT OF AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN
#EndPhysicalPunishment #EqualProtectionFromViolence
Research Papers & Webinars
The following links have been compiled for those wanting more information about corporal punishment of children in Australia including results of research.
BRIEFING PAPERS AND REPORTS
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Child Rights Progress Report, Commissioner for Children & Young People, South Australia, 2024. Download
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Corporal punishment, Divna Haslam, 2025, Queensland Family and Child Commission. Download here.
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Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform, Briefing paper, Daryl Higgins and Sophie Havighurst, 2022. Download
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Legislation in Australian States and Territories information pack. Dr Laetitia Greeff, Linda Savage, Alan Corbett, Dr Meri Oakwood, 2022. Download
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Smacking and physical punishment, Commissioner for Children & Young People, South Australia, 2024. Download
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Smacking and physical punishment FACT Sheet, Commissioner for Children & Young People, South Australia, 2024. Download
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Unseen and unheard: Listening to the voices of young people with lived experiences of violence, Commissioner for Children & Young People, South Australia, 2024. Download
SUBMISSIONS
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Havighurst, S., Higgins, D., & Flanagan, K. (2025). Submission to Queensland Law Reform Commission, Review of Section 280 of Queensland Criminal Code, End Physical Punishment of Australian Children, 11 April 2025.
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Turnhout, J. van T. (2025). Ireland experience - submission to Queensland Law Reform Commission, Former Independent Senator, Ireland, 11 April 2025.
RESEARCH PAPERS
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Poulsen, A., Mathews, B., Egan, N. et al. (2025). Childhood Experiences of Corporal Punishment and Associated Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization in Adulthood: Results from a Longitudinal Twin Study. Journal of Family Violence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-025-00864-7
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Rowland, A. G., Fussey, E., Gerry, F., Herbert, B., Schaff, O., Higgins, D., & Havighurst, S. S., (2025). The time for debate is over: The health, education, and legal case for legislative change to prohibit and eliminate all physical punishment of children and to achieve equal protection from assault in England and Northern Ireland. Child and Youth Services
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Chainey, C., & Whittle, S. (Eds). (2024). Guest editors' introduction to special issue on corporal punishment of children in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3).
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Fussey E, Gerry F, Herbert B, S Havighurst, D Higgins, Schaff O, Rowland AG (2024). Equal Protection from Assault in England and Northern Ireland: The Health, Education and Legal Case for legislative change to remove the “reasonable punishment” defence and to prohibit all physical punishment of children. London (UK): Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
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Gonzalez, C., Morawska, A., Higgins, D. J., & Haslam, D. M. (2024). Acceptability of corporal punishment and use of different parenting practices across high-income countries. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 648-666.
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Greeff, L. A., (2024). Children's rights violations: Parental corporal punishment under the microscope. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 637-647.
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Greeff, L.-A. (2024) Children's rights violations: Parental corporal punishment under the microscope. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 605–619.
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Greeff, L.-A. (2024). The normative nature of corporal punishment in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 620–636.
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Haslam, D. M., Malacova, E., Higgins, D., Meinck, F., Mathews, B., Thomas, H., Finkelhor, D., Havighurst, S., Pacella, R., Erskine, H., Scott, J. G., & Lawrence, D. (2024). The prevalence of corporal punishment in Australia: Findings from a nationally representative survey. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 147.
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Savage, L. (2024). Corporal punishment: Why the intentional use of violence against children is still acceptable. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 667–675.
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Shafiq, M., Munir, A., & Little, S. (2024). Misconceptions about corporal punishment in Islam, Australian Journal of Social Issues, 59 (3), 676-686.
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Slep, A. M. S., Rhoades, K. A., Lorber, M. F., & Heyman, R. E. (2024). Glimpsing the Iceberg: Parent-Child Physical Aggression and Abuse. Child Maltreatment, 29(2), 219-232.
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Havighurst, S. S., Mathews, B., Doyle, F. L., Haslam, D. M., Andriessen, K., Cubillo, C., Dawe, S., Hawes, D. J., Leung, C., Mazzucchelli, T. G., Morawska, A., Whittle, S., Chainey, C., & Higgins, D. J. (2023). Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47 (3).
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Canadian Journal of Children's Rights/Revue Canadienne Des Droits Des Enfants (2023). Special Issue: Children’s Rights to Protection from Corporal Punishment (10) 1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.22215/cjcr.v10i1 Greeff, L.-A. (2022). Corporal punishment in New South Wales: A call for repeal of section 61AA. Alternative Law Journal, 47(1), 30-35.
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Peter Miller, Ryan Baldwin, Kerri Coomber, Bowman Nixon, Nicholas Taylor, Alexa Hayley, Dominique de Andrade (2022). The association of childhood physical abuse, masculinity, intoxication, trait aggression with victimization in nightlife districts. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23.
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Saunders, B. J. (2019). Children’s Human Rights and Social Work Advocacy: “Lawful Correction.” Australian Social Work, 72(4), 490–502.
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Poulsen A. (2019). Corporal punishment of children in the home in Australia: a review of the research reveals the need for data and knowledge. Children Australia, 44(3), 2173.
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Poulsen, A. (2018). The role of corporal punishment in the perpetuation of intimate partner violence in Australia. Children Australia, 43(1), 2110.
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Rowland, A., Gerry, F., & Stanton, M. (2017). Physical Punishment of Children: Time to End the Defence of Reasonable Chastisement in the UK, USA and Australia. International journal of children’s rights, 25, 165-195.
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Dittman, C.K., Sibley, C.G., and Farruggia, S.P. (2013). Attitudes toward smacking in a New Zealand probability sample: Psychological and demographic correlates. New Zealand Journal of Psychology 42 (2) 41-50.
WEBINARS & RECORDINGS
This webinar, hosted by End Corporal Punishment and the Council of Baltic Sea States Expert Group on Children at Risk on 17 October 2024, brings the opportunity to hear from campaigners from Sri Lanka, Australia, Jamaica, Iceland and Kenya.
Australia's presentation by Sophie Havighurst starts at the 28-minute mark.
The following recordings all come from the our workshop 'Having the conversation: What is the role of legislative change and access to parenting supports in preventing corporal punishment of children in Australia' held on April 29, 2022. The workshop launched our collective action towards legislative change in Australia, and brings together experts from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Wales and the US.
Part 1
Current legal perspective on Australian state/territory laws on corporal punishment
Linda Savage
Ambassador for Children and Young People in Western Australia
Part 2
Corporal punishment law change – what does it mean for Indigenous Australians?
Kelleigh Ryan
Psychologist; Director, The Seedling Group
Part 3
Corporal punishment and its impact on children, plus the Canadian experience.
Professor Joan Durrant
University of Manitoba, Canada
Part 4
Update and lessons from the USA.
Professor George Holden
South Methodist University, USA
Part 5
Lessons learned from Ireland.
Jillian van Turnhout
Former Irish Senator, leader of Irish campaign for legislative change
Part 6
What worked for NZ and what might we apply to Australia?
Beth Wood
Lead campaigner for corporal punishment legislative change in New Zealand
Part 7
Lessons learned from Wales.
Professor Sally Holland
Cardiff University; former Children’s Commissioner, Wales
Part 8
Where are we at in Australia? Reflecting on other countries’ experiences and our next steps.
Anne Hollonds
Australian National Children’s Commissioner
See below for some of the key slides from the above webinars:


Kids want adults to know...
