The States of Jersey Assembly has voted in favour of passing the draft Children (Jersey) Law, repealing and replacing Article 79 of the 2002 Law with a provision, which abolishes the defence of reasonable corporal punishment in Jersey. It follows a vote in October by Members of Scottish Parliament in favour of removing their defence of justifiable assault.
The Welsh Assembly will be voting on similar legislation at start of 2020.
NSPCC Cymru/Wales issues the following statement.
Policy & Public Affairs Manager for Wales, Viv Laing, said: “This is a historic vote for Jersey, closing an outdated loophole that finally gives children in Jersey the same legal protection from assault as adults.
“We have long campaigned in Wales for this archaic defence of reasonable punishment to be removed so that children and young people are treated with fairness and equality under assault law.
“The Welsh Assembly must now do the same to give children more protection under assault law and move Wales in line with more than 50 countries around the world.”
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