Doctors urge UK govt to outlaw 'smacking' children in NI

Paediatricians have urged the UK government to follow devolved governments in Scotland and Wales and outlaw smacking children in Northern Ireland and England, arguing the move was"long overdue".The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said in a new report that current law in England and Northern Ireland had created"grey areas" that sometimes provided a defence for physical punishment.

However, the RCPCH argues a 2004 law for England and 2006 legislation for Northern Ireland covering this area needed amending to remove a possible"reasonable punishment" defence. However, government minister Laura Trott insisted laws in England were clear and that any abuse of children is"completely unacceptable", in comments to Sky News today.

But Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician and RCPCH officer, criticised the situation in the two UK nations without recent changes."They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may be lawful, and some are not."

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