The government has taken measures to ban corporal punishment in all spheres, Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to prohibit corporal punishment in all spheres, he said. He was speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing held at the Government Information Department yesterday.
“A recent study conducted in relation to Sri Lankan context by the United Nation’s Committee on Child Rights revealed that a large number of children are prone to physical punishments,
abuses and violence due to lack of legal provisions prevailing in home, within remedial protection background, within institutions for penalty orders and in schools,”sources said.
In addition to that, a Supreme Court decision relevant to a fundamental rights petition filed by a student experiencing hearing discrepancies followed by an assault by a teacher has held the relevant teacher and the Government responsible for violating the 11th statute of the Constitution.
It has been scientifically proven that a child may physically or mentally be impacted in the long run by such physical punishments both mentally and physically. Therefore, legal amendments should be introduced with immediate effect covering any act coming under cruel or daring physical or non-physical punishment category.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers have granted approval to the joint resolution made by the President along with the Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister to take necessary measures to amend both the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code including provisions for banning of all physical punishments in all the sectors.
