CRPD Briefing - Peru

BRIEFING FROM GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO END ALL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN

BRIEFING ON PERU FOR THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, 6TH SESSION – September 2011 From Peter Newell, Coordinator, Global Initiative [email protected]

The right of children with disabilities not to be subjected to corporal punishment The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities confirms that children with disabilities should enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children (article 7). The Convention also states that all persons have the rights to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 15), to freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse within and outside the home (article 16) and to respect for their physical and mental integrity (article 17). The jurisprudence of international treaty monitoring bodies, led by the Committee on the Rights of the Child monitoring the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is clear that these rights put an obligation on states parties to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children, including within the family. As confirmed in the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children, children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to violence, including corporal punishment, and corporal punishment is a significant cause of disability among children.1 In examining implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we hope the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will join the international human rights consensus and emphasise that children with disabilities should be protected by law from corporal punishment – violence inflicted in the name of “discipline” or punishment – in all settings, including the home, schools and other institutions. This briefing describes the legality and practice of corporal punishment of children in Peru and suggests recommendations that could be made by the Committee in respect of children with disabilities.

Peru’s initial report (CRPD/C/PER/1) and the issue of corporal punishment Peru’s initial report briefly refers to measures taken with regard to violence against persons with disabilities but makes no mention of corporal punishment, the violence that may be lawfully inflicted on disabled children in the guise of “discipline”. Corporal punishment in Peru is unlawful as a sentence for crime but is not prohibited in the home, schools, penal institutions and alternative care settings. While we have been unable to identify research specifically related to children with disabilities, other research shows a widespread use of corporal punishment of children in homes and schools.

Corporal punishment of children in Peru In Peru, corporal punishment is lawful in the home. The Code on Children and Adolescents (2000) states (article 74): “The duties and rights of parents who exercise custody include: … (d) providing [children] with good examples and correcting them moderately. When this action is not sufficient, they

1 Pinheiro, P. S. (2006), World Report on Violence against Children, Geneva: United Nations. See also Krug E. .G et al. (eds) (2002), World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva: World Health Organisation. Further information is available from the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, www.endcorporalpunishment.org, email [email protected] 1 can turn to the competent authority.” A similar provision in the Civil Code (1984, as modified by the Code on Children and Adolescents) states (article 423): “Duties and rights of parents who have custody include … (3) moderately correcting their children, and, when this is not sufficient, seeking assistance from judicial authorities, requesting that the child be placed in an establishment dedicated to the reeducation of children and adolescents.” Provisions against violence and abuse in the Criminal Code (1991), the Code on Children and Adolescents, the Constitution and the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence (2000) are not interpreted as prohibiting all corporal punishment in childrearing. Research has revealed the widespread approval and use of corporal punishment in childrearing. For example, in a survey of 1,000 adults in 15 cities by Ipsos Apoyo, published by El Comercio, 42% of respondents agreed with using corporal punishment “occasionally” to discipline children.2 In 2004, interviews were carried out with 870 female carers of children under 10. The majority (80%) believed corporal punishment necessary to educate their children: 52% believed ear pulling, slapping, or hitting with a belt or stick acceptable; 20% believed corporal punishment helps children learn to obey; 27% felt that corporal punishment was not good but used it nevertheless; only 16% stated they did not use corporal punishment. In interviews with young children (aged 4-5 years), 96% reported having been physically punished for “bad behaviour”.3 Supreme Decree No 007-2001-ED, Approval of Norms for the Management and Development of Activities in Educational Centres and Programmes (2001) states that corporal punishment should not be used in schools, but there is no explicit prohibition in law. Under the Code on Children and Adolescents the goal of education is the person’s development and his or her dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms must be respected (article 15), and children must be respected by their teachers (article 16). The child’s dignity and physical well-being is also provided for in the General Education Law (2003) (article 53) and the Constitution (article 15). In the penal system, corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime but there is no explicit prohibition of its use as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions or in in alternative care settings. In December 2007 the Congress gave all-party support to law reform to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including the home. In 2010 legislation which would prohibit in all settings was under discussion but as at September 2011 law reform has not yet been achieved.

Recommendations by human rights treaty monitoring bodies The Committee on the Rights of the Child has twice recommended that corporal punishment of children be explicitly prohibited in all settings in Peru, including the home – in its concluding observations on the second report in 2000 (CRC/C/15/Add.120, para. 22) and on the third report in 2006 (CRC/C/PER/CO/3, para. 43).

In light of the particular vulnerability of children with disabilities to corporal punishment by adults, the jurisprudence of the UN treaty bodies, and the importance of eradicating this form of violence given by the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, we hope the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will urge the Government of Peru to ensure as a matter of priority that legislation explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in the home, schools (mainstream and segregated) and all other settings and that appropriate measures such as awareness raising campaigns and the promotion of positive, non-violent discipline are taken to fully implement the prohibition.

2 Reported in Living in Peru, 27 September 2009 3 Base line project sponsored by Save the Children Canada and Save the Children UK in San Juan de Lurigancho – Lima, reported in International Save the Children Alliance (2005), Ending Physical and Humiliating Punishment of Children – Making it Happen: Global Submission to the UN Study on Violence against Children, Save the Children Sweden 2 Briefing prepared by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children www.endcorporalpunishment.org; [email protected] September 2011