Monday, 26 October 2020
Is Forced School Unconstitutional?
Saturday, 24 October 2020
To end violence against children, let’s start by making it illegal
Currently, parents in all 50 states and school staff in 19 states,[1] are legally allowed to inflict violence on children as a form of discipline, also known as “corporal punishment.”
At
home, millions of children each year experience corporal punishment, and most
American adults think that it is an appropriate form of discipline.[2]
At
school, more than 106,000 children were physically punished at public schools
during the 2013-14 school year.[3] And black students,
boys, and disabled students are physically punished at a greater rate than
their classmates.[4]
This needs to change.
This is not a protectionist
argument. It is not based on paternalistic notions of children as
"vulnerable" or "innocent" or being "our greatest
resource" or "society's future."
We must end state-privileged
violence against children because children are people with human rights. People
of all ages have the right to be free from violence.
While this practice is
commonly known as “corporal punishment,” to even accept this phrasing is
problematic. If this was done to another adult, it would simply be assault and
battery and/or domestic violence. As the legal scholar Samantha Godwin puts it:
This phrasing… “normalizes violence against children
that would not be tolerated were it directed against adults. Referring to
violence against children as “punishment” implies that the violent act is
committed as a potentially legitimately deserved sanction for the child’s
behavior. The phrase itself is an expression that implies victim blaming; it
presumes the potential or actual lawfulness of the perpetrator. To speak of
violence against children as “corporal punishment” begs the question of whether
such violence is legitimate by presuming that some private violence is
legitimate punishment.”[5]
What is commonly known as
“corporal punishment” is a state-privileged battery against young people, and we
should recognize this injustice. So-called “corporal punishment” advances no
compelling state interest and only serves to oppress children.[6]
While I am not aware of constitutional challenges to corporal punishment in the home, corporal punishment in schools has been upheld under federal law. In 1977, in the infamous case Ingraham v. Wright, the US Supreme Court found that the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, did not apply to school students, and that teachers could punish children without parental permission.[7] Many scholars agree that this was a travesty of a decision that needs to be overturned.[8]
Eliminating state-privileged violence against children would be a huge step forward in recognizing the rights of children to bodily autonomy and safety. It would also help to prevent child abuse and change the attitudes of parents towards their children. In 2018, the majority of perpetrators of child abuse and neglect (77.5 percent) in the U.S. were parents of their victims.[9] Continuing to give parents the legal privilege to batter their children only worsens this problem.
Moreover, the U.S. lags behind many other
countries on this issue. Sweden banned all forms of violence against children
in 1979. Currently, there are 60 countries that have banned corporal punishment
in the home, and 132 countries that have banned it in schools.[10]
There is conclusive evidence
that corporal punishment is harmful to children and provides no real benefits.[11]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized over 200 studies which associate
corporal punishment with a wide range of negative health, developmental and
behavioral outcomes for children that can follow them into adulthood.[12]
These include, but are not limited to, death and serious physical injury,
mental and indirect physical harm, impaired cognitive development, increased
aggression, violent and antisocial behavior and severely damaged parent-child
relationships.[13]
And eliminating corporal
punishment has proven benefits on a societal scale. One study looked at 88
different countries and found that instituting a national “prohibition of
corporal punishment is associated with less youth violence.”[14]
However, such evidence is
not needed in order to know that the practice of corporal punishment must be ended.
It is violence against children, and it violates children’s rights to human
dignity and bodily integrity. It is also incompatible with liberal notions of
equal protection under the law.
Many parents object to
eliminating corporal punishment on the grounds that it would lead to the
dissolution of the family or inability to “control” children. But the end of
husbands’ legal privilege to beat and rape their wives didn’t result in the
destruction of the family; there is no reason why ending state privileged
parental battery of children would lead to a different outcome. Moreover, the
number of parents and teachers that discipline children without using physical
violence show how misguided these objections are.
Of course, challenges will
remain even after corporal punishment is formally made illegal. There must also
be meaningful enforcement and a change in cultural attitudes surrounding
violence against children. However, formally eliminating state-privileged battery
of children is an important starting point. To this end, many organizations
have been working to end legally privileged violence against children,
including dozens of groups in the U.S.[15]
Still, the laws remain on the books and millions of children continue to
experience battery as a form of punishment. There is much work to be done.
To take action, you can check to see
if your local school board has a ban on corporal punishment. If not, advocate
for one. You can also contact local elected officials and ask them to support a
ban on corporal punishment in public schools in your state and ask them to
support a ban on corporal punishment by parents. If you are a parent, you can
commit to nonviolent parenting strategies and learn more about the alternatives.
And finally, we can all engage in conversations to build awareness around the
issue of state-privileged violence against children.
[1] Gershoff, E. T., & Font, S. A. (2016). Corporal
Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status
in State and Federal Policy. Social policy report, 30,
1.; See also https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/corporal-punishment-school-tennessee.html
[2]
http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/country-reports/USA.pdf
(citing: Ipsos Poll Conducted for Reuters: Corporal Punishment Topline (2014)).
[3]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/corporal-punishment-school-tennessee.html
(Citing
the latest data available from the Education
Department’s Office for Civil Rights).
[4]
https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690828.pdf
[5] Godwin, S. (2011). Children's oppression, rights, and
liberation. Nw. Interdisc. L. Rev., 4, 247, 289.
[6] Godwin, S. (2011). Children's oppression, rights, and
liberation. Nw. Interdisc. L. Rev., 4, 247.
[7] Ingraham v Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
[8] See, e.g., Woodhouse, B. B. (2010). Hidden in plain
sight: The tragedy of children's rights from Ben Franklin to Lionel Tate (Vol.
8). Princeton University Press.
[9] Child Welfare Information Gateway.
(2020). Child maltreatment 2018: Summary of key findings. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and
Families, Children's Bureau. Available at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/canstats.pdf.
[10]
https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/
[11] See Gershoff, E. T., & Bitensky, S. H. (2007). The case
against corporal punishment of children: Converging evidence from social
science research and international human rights law and implications for US
public policy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 13(4),
231. See also Godsoe, C. (2017). Redefining parental rights: The case of
corporal punishment. Const. Comment., 32, 281.
[12] https://www.who.int/topics/violence/Global-Initiative-to-End-All-Corporal-Punishment-of-Children-GAP2-violence.pdf (citing Global Initiative to End
All Corporal Punishment of Children (2015), Corporal punishment of children:
review of research on its impact and associations, Working paper, London:
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children).
[13] Id.
[14] Elgar FJ, Donnelly PD, Michaelson V,
et al. Corporal punishment bans and physical fighting in adolescents: an
ecological study of 88 countries. BMJ Open 2018.
[15] For a list of these groups, see: https://www.endhitting.org/partnering-organizations
Sunday, 18 October 2020
Free Youth Now: An Introduction to Youth Liberation
Children are oppressed. The solution is children’s liberation and the dismantling of paternalism.
This issue matters so much to me
because I am a survivor of childhood. To be sure, as a cis-gender white male
from a wealthy family, I experienced a relatively privileged childhood. But a
relatively privileged childhood is still an oppressed existence.
Because of my privilege, I may
have only acutely experienced one form of oppression. Meanwhile, many children must
contend with multiple, intersecting forms of oppression and violence on a daily
basis. This intersectionality means that those of us working for children’s
liberation must also work towards decolonization and the liberation of Black
people, Indigenous people, and other people of color. It means we must confront
oppression in all its forms. But it does not diminish the severity of any one
form relative to the others. Oppression is oppression.
For all 18 years of my legal
childhood, most of the important aspects of my life were controlled by others,
and that control was enforced by law. I keenly felt the injustice and the
indignity of being treated as less than a full person. Like many young people, I
knew the institution of childhood was mostly arbitrary, overly oppressive, and senselessly
restrictive. I had interests, goals, desires, and aspirations for my life. Not
just my future “adult” life – but my very real life that I was trying to
experience as a young person. Yet I was unable to live as a free person.
So instead, I did what many young
people do, and I rebelled constantly – against forced schooling; against
parental coercion; against ageism in general. It was a desperate and misguided
attempt to reclaim some of my dignity and sense of self that was constantly
under assault. But I saw it as my only option. In turn, I was punished. I was told that I just didn’t understand because I was a
kid. I was even told that I should be grateful; that I was spoiled for not
appreciating what I was "given." I was told that I would understand
once I was older.
But now I have been a legal
adult for a decade, and it still doesn’t make sense. In fact, it seems even
more unjust than it did then. My teen angst has
transformed into an inferno of purpose. Now, I fully realize the arbitrariness and
violence of the oppression of children.
I now see that what
I was experiencing was paternalism. This same tool was used to try to justify
the oppression of women and the enslavement of Black people. They were told that
they didn't deserve equal rights because they were inferior; that they should
be grateful for the current system. But paternalism is founded on a false and
violent assumption that some people are entitled to control the lives of others
because of perceived differences.
I now see the very
real violence that it perpetrates against youth. And I see that with a little
creativity and much effort, we could develop liberatory alternatives. In fact,
many of these already exist. And it’s time to commit to this work.
Most of us want to live in a
world of free and liberated people. But this can’t happen if there is
normalized systemic oppression. And one of the most pervasive forms of
oppression is ageism.
Young people are categorically
denied rights in our society. Young people can’t vote; can’t choose what to
learn; can’t choose how to spend their days; and mostly can’t work. Parents are
legally allowed to hit their children and send them to “troubled teen” boot
camps and conversion therapy (in many states) against their will. Runaway laws
prevent children from leaving even toxic and abusive homes (except in the most
extreme circumstances – when they are transferred to state custody).
Incorrigibility laws mean that courts can force children to obey their parents.
Parents and relatives regularly fondle and touch children without their consent.
For many children, the cumulative effects of this reality mean that childhood
is an inescapable hell.
Yet this oppression is almost
entirely arbitrary. The oppression of children is not some natural state of
humankind; it is not a given of organized society. Like racism; like the
oppression of women; like patriarchy in general – the oppression of children is
socially constructed. The age of majority, parental rights, paternalism, and
the nuclear family are relatively recent legal fictions created primarily to
serve the interests of those with power.
The oppression of young people
is morally and philosophically indefensible. It causes serious harm and normalizes
violent systems of power and hierarchy. By the time most children are five
years old, they already understand that sound reasoning doesn’t matter; that
consent is contingent; that bodily autonomy only applies to those with power; that
power is control; and that might makes right. These are the consequences of systemic
paternalism and the oppression of children.
But the fact that we were born
into and normalized to systems of paternalistic oppression does not mean we are
condemned to perpetuate them. Cycles of violence are doomed to repeat until there
is a moral awakening to the injustice of the pattern. What follows is an effort
to unlearn the violent behavior and create new relations. Struggles for
liberation from other forms of oppression – such as racism and sexism – show us
that the fight against systems of domination and violence is necessary and worthwhile.
They show us that society can and must change. And they teach us that systems
of oppression are interconnected, and that collective liberation means taking an
intersectional approach to the work.
It is now time to take up that
fight for the liberation of young people. A liberated world means that people
of all ages are free from oppression. A liberated world means free youth now.
Saturday, 17 October 2020
Children and Pets: Similarities in Oppression
Monday, 12 October 2020
The Bystander Problem
We've all seen it a hundred times.
A parent in the supermarket notices their child doing something they don't approve of -- usually, something completely harmless like looking at candy bars, or playing a game with their sibling -- and the parent reacts aggressively. They yell at the child, or they grab their arm and yank them, or they threaten them, or they otherwise demean them. Often it's clear that the child is hurt or embarrassed.
And everyone else in the store just watches it happen. Some people nod approvingly. Some people (like myself) might get really uncomfortable or angry. But in all but the most extreme situations, we just sit by. We are bystanders. Because parents have a "right" to treat their children how they want, don't they?
Tradition and custom in our society say that we should usually mind our own business and let parents treat their children however they wish. Most parents agree. Often, parents will get extremely defensive, and even aggressive, if you question their treatment of children.
But I think that this societal norm of bystander silence is harmful to children. I think intervening is justified in many cases. In fact, I think we should do it more often.
I think there is a moral obligation to step in when we see people mistreating other people.
I just don't buy the idea that parents "own" or "control" their children (and there are strong legal arguments against parental rights). Therefore, I see children as people -- independent people deserving of respectful treatment. Even equal treatment.
If I saw one person treating another person the way many parents treat their children, I would be horrified. I might even contact the authorities if one adult yelled at, viciously grabbed, and then threatened, another adult -- like I have seen many adults do to their children in public.
I don't think that respect for human dignity should only be for adults. I believe we have a duty to extend this same respect and concern to children.
There is no law saying that you can't step in and tell someone that what you think they are doing to their children is wrong. Even if the parent doesn't change, it might mean a lot to the young person to have someone stand up for them; to show them that the world doesn't necessarily have to be so arbitrary and cruel. Of course, many parents will attempt to justify this violence by calling it their own style of "parenting" or "discipline."
But make no mistake -- this is abuse. And it needs to be called in.
Monday, 5 October 2020
Youth Oppression Hurts Us All
The oppression of youth doesn't just harm young people -- it oppresses everyone.
We all want freedom. But my freedom is tied to the freedom of others. We can't be free unless we are all free.
As long as young people are segregated from the rest of society and forced to be obedient and follow strict paths against their will, the options for the rest of society are limited and we don't experience collective freedom.
When the freedom of young people is violated and oppressed, the freedom of legal adults is constrained too. It's just as hard for many adults as it is for children. Just think about all of the teachers and parents trapped in systems of oppression -- trying to control young people against their will. Think about how frustrating and stressful it is to be a strict parent of a rebellious teenager in our society. Is that freedom? Is that a liberating relationship? I don't think so.
In a free world, there are so many possibilities; so much creative potential; so much community and partnership. But this is lost when young people are oppressed. Age-based discrimination and restrictions limit the possibilities for young people's lives and legal adults' lives.
The liberation of young people means the liberation of all people.
Free Youth Now.
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