Study: Majority of Moroccans Support Corporal Punishment for Children

The majority of Africans continue to use physical force to punish children. In countries like Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, nine out of ten citizens (90%) believe that corporal punishment is necessary to discipline children, according to this survey conducted in 36 African countries as part of the International Day of the African Child.

During the 2021-2022 period, 40% of citizens are against corporal punishment on children, while the remaining 60% believe that parents can correct their children "from time to time". The study also shows a growing rejection of this practice over the past five years, particularly in Morocco, Malawi and Tanzania. In these countries, educated and high-income citizens are not in favor of this educational method.

Between 2016 and 2022, the survey, cited by Hespress, also notes a 5% decrease in citizens of 32 African countries who believe in the use of corporal punishment in the education of their children. In Morocco, this decrease is 2%. 40% of citizens living in urban areas are more opposed to this practice, compared to 36% for residents in rural areas. Those over 55 are more against this form of education (41%) than those aged 26-55 (37%).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), corporal punishment of children "impedes their development and violates their rights". The International Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Morocco in 1993, prohibits and punishes all forms of violence against children. Article 32 of the 2011 Moroccan Constitution stipulates that "the State undertakes to provide equal legal, social and moral protection to all children, regardless of their family situation".