Election season is upon us once again in Northern Ireland. As ever our children – almost a quarter of the population – do not have the right to vote in the upcoming polls but, more surprisingly, they also do not enjoy the same protection as adults under the law. This is because of the laws around physical punishment, legislation which the NSPCC in Northern Ireland believes must be changed as a priority when the new Northern Ireland Assembly takes shape.
We know that the ‘smacking debate’ has always provoked strong feelings – both for and against – but we believe, as a matter of urgency, the law in Northern Ireland permitting adults to strike children should be changed, bringing us in line with the dozens of other countries which have done the same, including the Republic, Germany and Spain. The Welsh government has said it will legislate to remove the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ and the issue is also being debated in Scotland.
We appreciate that parenting can be challenging and it is clear that children need boundaries and controls on their behaviour. The issue has always been how best to impose these boundaries on children when they misbehave. Under the law, in a case of common assault against a child, the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ can be used by parents and guardians. But that same defence does not exist in a case of common assault against an adult. This is wrong. The NSPCC has long campaigned for this anomaly in the law to be removed so children have exactly the same legal protection as adults against assault.
It is already against the law in Northern Ireland (as in the rest of the UK) for teachers, nursery workers and child care workers to smack another person’s child. The NSPCC believes that the current loophole in the law should be closed. Everyone should be clear that physically disciplining a child is as wrong as hitting an adult.
Alongside this, there is an ever-increasing body of evidence that smacking of children is not an effective form of discipline.
We recognise that the key is getting better support for parents and families who need help. With this in mind, we believe that the much needed change to the law on physical punishment should be accompanied by a positive parenting strategy to help parents know that there are safer and more positive alternatives to physical punishment. Stormont should ensure a range of initiatives are put in place to support parents find other, more effective, ways to control their children.
At the NSPCC in Northern Ireland we believe the time has come to take this important next step in child protection and give children here the same protection from assault as adults.
NEIL ANDERSON
Head of the NSPCC
in Northern Ireland
Catholic fear of English based on bitter experience
Desmond Devlin, in his letter ‘Assembly has failed in its objective to foster agreement’ (April 13) stated that “Catholics have an irrational fear of the English”.
According to our friend Mr Webster, irrational is defined as ‘not governed by a fair consideration of facts or evidence. Also, unreasonable, groundless and unjustified’.
Starting in the 16th century with Henry VIII’s decision to usurp the authority of Pope Clement VII and set himself up as the head of the new church of England in 1534, through to his daughter Elizabeth I and her attitude to ‘that rude and barbarous nation’ – the scorched-earth tactics employed by her army, sent to put down a revolt in 1582 by Gerald Fitzgerald, the Earl of Desmond, resulted in the deaths, by starvation, of an estimated 30,000 people, (not the last time that particular tactic would be employed to bring the recalcitrant ‘papists’ into line.)
Onwards to the 17th century and Cromwell’s brutal sackings of Drogheda and Wexford and the subsequent deaths, forced evictions and deportations of up to 50,000 men, women and children.
The 18th century brought us the Penal Laws and the usual heavy-handed reprisals against both armed rebels and the civilian population following 1798.
The 19th century once more saw the spectre of famine sweeping across the land and the introduction of the concept of ‘taking the soup’.
To avoid starvation people could apply to soup kitchens where they would receive relief, provided they submitted to proselytisation.
As can be seen, and without even mentioning the events of the last 100 years, any fear that Irish Catholics have of England could hardly be classed as irrational or unreasonable, but is in fact based on bitter experience.
SEAMUS HENRY
Draperstown, Co Derry
DUP and SF reflect north’s divisions
Alex Kane seems to blame Sinn Féin and the DUP for the divisions that exist in the six counties (April 14). That is being unrealistic and naive. They are democratically elected and truly reflect the divisions that exist between two quite different communities – one consisting of the indigenous population and the other composed of British colonists.
A similar situation exists in the Holy Land where there are two different races with separate languages, religions and cultures. A comparison can also be made with the situation that prevailed in Algeria in the past where 1,000,000 French colonists constituted a significant minority in a country where the indigenous population were Arabic-speaking Muslims.
A harmonious relationship is unlikely ever to develop between the two communities in the Six Counties regardless of how earnestly Alex Kane and other wishful thinkers might desire it. The cracks in the north’s society cannot be papered over.
Logic would seem to suggest the problem might be resolved by concentrating one community on the east side of the river bank and the other on the west. The river might be a more appropriate, and more effective demarcation line than the peace wall and it would not look as ugly.
SEAMUS HARAN
Co Limerick
Sinn Féin’s small-town mindset
I recently learnt that a leading Ulster University economist predicted that the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area can expect approximately 2,400 more jobs by 2026. Now this may come as a surprise to some perhaps, but when you consider the intransigence of Sinn Féin – who are vehemently opposed to 1,000 jobs at the proposed Carnbane Way Development, Newry, including new houses and sensitive concerns for archaeological sites – these figures of job predictions should be viewed as a conservative estimate as we already have 1,000 of these jobs in the bag if Sinn Féin could evolve from their small town mindset.
JOHN McCABE
Newry, Co Down
US mission statement
As reported (April 14), the US wants to send a message to all that it takes the threat of Islamic State seriously so it bombs targets in Afghanistan.
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, would be better served by making a mission statement to the Saudi diplomats and government giving them a warning to stop their hedious support across the globe for terrorists and if it does not give up its relentless financial support for terror. The US government will put its energies in dealing with this issue.
PAUL DORAN
Clondalkin, Dublin 22
Tedious and repetitive
Reading the letters page (April 6), I was encouraged to see that I am not the only person to find Messrs Fitzgerald and Sullivan of Co Cork, tedious and repetitive.
Such is the regularity with which they appear, perhaps The Irish News would consider giving them a regular feature in which they can tell us ‘how it is’ up here in these most remote parts of the island?
NIALL INNES
Belfast BT4
