Hyderabad: Despite statistics of 500 cases of corporal punishment on children in the last six months, child protection officials say that it is just the tip of the iceberg.
“It is the most common method employed to discipline children and most of the cases go unreported,” said Vijaya Devi Mamidi, a member of Child Welfare Committee of Ranga Reddy district.
The report listed ‘mild punishments to severe physical abuse, verbal harassment and labelling based on caste, gender or religion’ as the nature of complaints reported by the children.
Despite the ban, parents endorse the strict measures as they don’t have time to counsel the child said, another member.
“Mathematics, English and Physical training are the classes in which children get punished the most; beatings with cane, slapping on cheek, and boxed ears are most commonly used methods of punishment. Being forbidden to use toilet is also employed quite often,” observed another SCPCR member.
“The law is not that strong against those who flout it, but perhaps awareness about the ban on punishments will increase the number of cases that are reported. Over time, reporting of cases and action taken might help in bringing down the prevalence of corporal punishment,” said CWC member Vijaya Devi.
Verbal abuse equally damaging
Not just physical violence, even verbal lashing, to discipline a child can cause psychological trauma having long-lasting impact on the child, opine experts.
Nine-year-old Soumya (name changed), studying in a corporate school in Hyderabad, began giving ‘weird reasons’ to avoid going to school. When her grades dropped and so did her food intake, her mother sought help from doctors, it was found that Soumya was ridiculed by both teachers and students for being ‘overweight’, and for asking for a second helping during lunch provided by the management. Soumya was counselled by experts, while her mother spoke to the school management to resolve the issue.
“School managements direct teachers not to resort to punishment to discipline kids. However, awareness about physical punishment or mental harassment is low in south India,” explains Dr Pragya Rashmi, consultant psychologist at Yashoda Hospital.
Speaking about the adverse affect of punishment on a child’s psyche, Dr Pragya, says, “While younger children get confused about why they got a beating, older children can developing a rebellious attitude.” Bed-wetting, reluctance to go to school, withdrawn or aggressive behaviour, and a deterioration of academic performance are some of the adverse impacts of ‘punishment’.
