Posted: 25 September, 2025 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Nqobani Nyathi | Tags: 1.2 billion children, Africa, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Children with disabilities, corporal punishment of children, dropout rates, General Comment 9, global public health concern, Guidelines on Ending Violence Against Children in Africa, no benefits, physical force, public health crisis, religion, religious traditions, tradition, violence, World Health Organisation (WHO) |
Author: Nqobani Nyathi
Doctoral Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
On 20 August 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a report declaring corporal punishment of children a global public health concern. By definition, corporal punishment is any punishment where physical force is used with the intention of causing some degree of discomfort or pain, however light.
The statistics are staggering. An estimated 1.2 billion children around the world are subjected to corporal punishment at home every year. Children exposed to such violence are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and emotional instability. These effects often persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of alcohol and drug use, and violent behaviour. In schools, corporal punishment contributes to dropout rates and poor educational outcomes.
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Posted: 13 March, 2018 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Satang Nabaneh | Tags: back street abortions, family planning, Gambia, health care, illegal abortion, medical cost, Penal Code, religious traditions, restrictive abortion laws, The Gambia Family Planning Association, unsafe abortion, unwanted pregnancy, Women’s Act, women’s sexual and reproductive rights |
Author: Satang Nabaneh
Project Officer, Women Rights Unit, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
In the Gambian context, the right of women to an informed choice and access to family planning and appropriate health-care service remains contentious due to the socio-cultural and religions dimensions. Being a society where deep-seated traditions and the Islamic religion play a major part in the life of a person and society, issues of sexuality and procreation are generally interpreted accordingly.
The Gambia has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Africa, which criminalises abortion based on colonially inherited penal code (Criminal Code, Act no. 25 of 1933). The Criminal Code follows the abortion law as provided in the English Offences against the Person Act of 1861 and subsequent interpretation by the Courts such as in the 1938 case of R v Bourne (3 ALL ER 615, [1939] 1 KB 687).
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AfricLaw 
Corporal punishment as a public health concern: Breaking the cycle of violence against children in Africa
Posted: 25 September, 2025 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Nqobani Nyathi | Tags: 1.2 billion children, Africa, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Children with disabilities, corporal punishment of children, dropout rates, General Comment 9, global public health concern, Guidelines on Ending Violence Against Children in Africa, no benefits, physical force, public health crisis, religion, religious traditions, tradition, violence, World Health Organisation (WHO) | 1 CommentDoctoral Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
On 20 August 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a report declaring corporal punishment of children a global public health concern. By definition, corporal punishment is any punishment where physical force is used with the intention of causing some degree of discomfort or pain, however light.
The statistics are staggering. An estimated 1.2 billion children around the world are subjected to corporal punishment at home every year. Children exposed to such violence are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and emotional instability. These effects often persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of alcohol and drug use, and violent behaviour. In schools, corporal punishment contributes to dropout rates and poor educational outcomes.
Read the rest of this entry »