New spanking law in the works

28 July 2013 - 16:22 By Sapa
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A wooden spoon. File photo.
A wooden spoon. File photo.

A new law is being drafted to make it illegal for parents to spank their children at home, according to a report.

"If a husband beats a wife it's a crime, but if a parents hits a child who is helpless, it's not illegal," social development minister Bathabile Dlamini told the Sunday Times.

She said parents had to take responsibility and raise their children with proper values, to ensure they "don't end up killing your own children."

Corporal punishment has been outlawed at school since 2006.

The newspaper reported that, under the draft law, parents would be charged with assault if, at home, they used a flat hand on child's bottom or enacted other forms of corporal punishment.

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