Corporal punishment and reporting to child protection authorities: An empirical study of population attitudes in five European countries

Legitimate child protection interventions and the dimension of confidence: A comparative analysis of populations views in six European countries

“…Because people's views on child protection are an understudied area in general (Berger and Slack, 2020), and with only a few studies that compare people's attitudes towards interventions (Berrick et al, 2019(Berrick et al, , 2021Burns et al, 2021;Helland et al, 2020Helland et al, , 2022Schmid and Benbenishty, 2011), we believe it is particularly relevant to examine and expand the knowledge base about the role and place of both people's confidence in and moral alignment with the system. Our operationalisation of confidence is based on an understanding of procedural justice as a source of legitimacy if actions and procedures follow just laws, and power is exercised in normatively appropriate ways (Beetham, 1991in Heywood, 2004Rawls, 1993;Tyler and Trinkner, 2018).…”

Spare the rod! Implications for community safety partnerships in removing the reasonable chastisement defence in Wales

“…Research suggests that there are several factors that may influence the reporting of corporal punishment to the authorities. Burns et al ( 2021 ) for example, conducted a study on the attitudes of people in five European countries (Austria, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, and Spain) on reporting corporal punishment to child protection authorities. Burns et al ( 2021 , p. 5) found that corporal punishment was not generally acceptable in all five countries, all of whom had prohibited the use of corporal punishment.…”

“…Burns et al ( 2021 ) for example, conducted a study on the attitudes of people in five European countries (Austria, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, and Spain) on reporting corporal punishment to child protection authorities. Burns et al ( 2021 , p. 5) found that corporal punishment was not generally acceptable in all five countries, all of whom had prohibited the use of corporal punishment. They also found that with the majority of respondents there was compatibility between a person’s attitude to corporal punishment and their views on reporting it.…”

“…They also found that with the majority of respondents there was compatibility between a person’s attitude to corporal punishment and their views on reporting it. However, there were two significant groups that provided a mismatch; the first group being those that disapprove of corporal punishment, but do not want to report it, and the second group that approves of corporal punishment, but do want it to be reported (Burns et al 2021 , p. 5). Burns et al ( 2021 , p. 7) suggest that this mismatch may be related to the respondents’ confidence in the child protection authorities, as ‘respondents with low confidence are more likely to not report, whereas those with high confidence are more likely to report.’…”

Justifying interventions in Norwegian child protection

“…Parents' violence towards and corporal punishment of children are prohibited in Norway and 63 other countries -with 26 more states having committed to reforms to achieve complete prohibition. 4 Attitudes towards corporal punishment and the regulative legislation on the matter vary between individuals and between populations (Helland et al 2018;Burns et al 2021;Baniamin 2020). In Norway, the population expresses little tolerance for the use of corporal punishment (87% do not find it acceptable), in contrast to Spain (62%) and Austria (76%) (Helland et al 2018).…”