A court judgment prohibiting parents from smacking their children sets a dangerous precedent that erodes parental authority.
That is the view of Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) – a non-profit Christian organisation – in response to the judgment‚ which effectively found that the common law defence of reasonable chastisement of children at home was unconstitutional and no longer applicable in law.
The order was made by the High Court in Johannesburg in a case involving a Muslim father who beat his son for allegedly watching pornography.
Judge Raylene Keightley said it was time for the country to march in step with its international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by recognising that the reasonable chastisement defence is no longer legally acceptable.