A case for love.

A VIDEO went viral recently, of a young child being brutally beaten by his instructor in a madressah-style setting. The more the little boy cried, the more abuse he got to make him 'stop'.

The source of the video was unverified so the real details will remain blurry - but each frame contains a story from the past and for the future. What did that young man experience in his own childhood, to make him feel entitled to use violence as a strategy to 'teach' and to 'discipline'? How will that little boy internalise the experience - and how will he respond to others, the day he's in a position of relative power? When his mind is numbed by fear, what else will he learn in that class?

The degree of violence may vary, but corporal punishment as a strategy for children is not the exception. According to Unicef, about half the world's children are subjected to corporal punishment at home, with about three in four children between the ages of two and four experiencing violent discipline at the hands of parents and other primary caregivers. There is less research around schools, but corporal punishment is a common tool used by teachers for infractions as minor as an untidy uniform to forgotten homework, to not 'knowing' the answer. The rationale would be that the pain or shame of physical or verbal abuse would lead to behaviour change - or somehow bring a magical revelation with all the answers.

It sounds obvious to say: it won't.

Corporal punishment is not the exception.

Instead, perhaps it is not fully understood that violence in childhood can have lifelong effects on physical health, mental health, learning and behaviour. Apart from the obvious threat of injury from physical violence, prolonged exposure to adverse childhood experiences can cause long-term health problems including obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Traumatic experiences in childhood can shape a child's brain architecture and response to stress even as an adult. In particular, it can shape the response to conflict - children who learn violence can become bullies in the playground - and in life. Finally, violence in school spaces can lead to poorer educational outcomes and higher risk of dropout for children who are already struggling to learn. One reason for the widespread use of corporal punishment is that in Pakistan, there has been no legal barrier to it. Campaigners such as Shehzad Roy have made a compelling case to overturn existing impediments and ban corporal punishment in...

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