A ray of hope for the outlawing of corporal punishment in Zimbabwe: a review of recent developments.

Abstract

This paper explores recent developments regarding the issue of corporal punishment with a view to show the ray of hope that corporal punishment will indeed be a thing of the past soon, at least in terms of the law. The first part gives an overview of corporal punishment in terms of definition. This is followed by an analysis of international law regarding the issue. The next part explores domestic policy and law on corporal punishment prior to the new Constitution of Zimbabwe. This is followed by a brief discussion of the negative consequences of corporal punishment on children. The next part examines how recent developments show that corporal punishment may soon be abolished. This is seen mainly from the declaration of constitutional invalidity of the practice by the two High Court decisions highlighted above. The last part briefly explores what it would take for the outlawing of corporal punishment to be implemented successfully in a conservative society such as Zimbabwe.