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Smacking: Discipline or Abuse?

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Smacking: Discipline or Abuse?
This staged picture shows a child being spanked by her mother in Paris, on March 1, 2015. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images
Gabriël Moens
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Commentary

Smacking, or spanking—as the Americans would call it—disobedient children has a history as old as the existence of humanity. But lately, there have been incessant demands to ban the practice by making it illegal.

Gabriël Moens
Gabriël Moens
Author
Gabriël A. Moens AM is an emeritus professor of law at the University of Queensland, and served as pro vice-chancellor and dean at Murdoch University. In 2003, Moens was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal by the prime minister for services to education. He has taught extensively across Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
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