Julie Morgan

If I had the opportunity to change a law I would choose to give children the same protection from being hit that adults have.

As the law stands an old Victorian defence of "reasonable chastisement" can be used to excuse parents who hit children.

This defence means that children, the smallest and most vulnerable members of our society, have less protection that we adults have.

There is a clear zero tolerance message from government about violent behaviour between adults but it doesn’t extend to violence against children.  I believe it should.

Getting rid of the "reasonable chastisement" would create a clear bottom line for everyone that using violence against children is as unacceptable as using it against anyone.

It would help doctors, social workers, health visitors, childcare professionals and others to protect children better.  Instead, attempts to get positive, non-violent discipline universally accepted are fatally undermined because physically punishing children remains legally acceptable.

People say that "smacking" children isn’t the same, but it is – it’s just a more comfortable word that is used to disguise physical punishment which inflicts pain and humiliation on a growing child. It also sends a message to that child that hitting is an acceptable way to control someone’s behaviour.

People also say that removing the "reasonable chastisement" defence would criminalise parents – I don’t believe it would.

I recently went to Sweden where they took this step in 1957.  Today less than 10 per cent of Swedish people support the use of physical punishment.  Evidence shows that parents go for help much earlier on. Twelve other countries have also taken this step.

In the UK it is well-established practice that all potential prosecutions have to pass an evidential test and a "public interest" test.  It is inconceivable that prosecutions of parents would happen, except in the most severe cases of physical abuse.

I recognise this is a very personal issue for politicians like everyone else.

Research indicates that many of us were "smacked" or beaten ourselves as children, and have used physical punishment against our own children on occasion.  A much-used phrase is, "It never did me any harm".  I think this is just justifying the unjustifiable and it’s time for us to move on and aspire to something better for the coming generations.

This is a legal reform that requires leadership and courage on the part of politicians.

We'll have to do it sooner or later to satisfy our human rights obligations because UN and European human rights monitoring bodies have consistently called for UK law reform.

So let’s do it now when the opportunity arises to vote for a new clause to the Children Bill.