PUBLISHED : 27 Oct 2024 at 17:10
A committee will propose a “no-cane” bill for the House’s approval. If it succeeds, Thailand will become the second country in the Asean region to outlaw corporal punishment.
Weeraphat Khantha, spokesman of the committee, said the law allows parental figures to punish their children by means including caning. The law, which takes the form of a Civil Procedure Code, was implemented 89 years ago.
Citing the Thailand office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the Social Development and Human Security Ministry found 38.6% of children aged 1–14 years old punished by their parents in 2022 suffered physical abuse.
With this in mind, the committee pushed to amend the law to promote positive child-raising methods. The amended law is expected to improve the domestic situation and encourage a more welcoming atmosphere, which should be more beneficial to children’s development.
“The change is expected to promote a better relationship between parents and children and lessen children’s trauma,” said Mr Weeraphat. If the amendment receives House approval, Thailand will be the second country in Asean to implement a no-caning law, and the 68th globally, Mr Weeraphat added.