How Calls to Ban Smacking Children Sparked Widespread Debate in England and Northern Ireland

The recent conviction of the parents of the British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif, who was beaten to death in August 2023 after being subjected to years of abuse, dominated the front pages of British newspapers.

This case sparked widespread controversy in Britain over child protection, prompting legislators to study a legal amendment to completely ban hitting children.

These moves come after the girl’s father admitted that he legally punished her before her death, highlighting the major loopholes in the child protection system.

Many Britons circulated hashtags, most notably: #SmackingBan and #SaraSharif, criticizing the failure to include a ban on smacking children in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill.

Supporters of the bill pointed to the laws in Britain that give pets and adults greater protection from violence than children, while critics expressed concerns that this could criminalize parents who are trying their best to raise their children.

In a recent YouGov poll, 62% of UK parents admitted smacking their children, most of whom were normal-range parents.

Sara Sharif Case

The British Old Bailey court recently sentenced Urfan Sharif (42 years old) to life imprisonment with a minimum of 40 years, while his wife Beinash Batool (30 years old) was sentenced to 33 years in prison, after they were convicted of killing the child Sara Sharif (10 years old).

Faisal Malik (29 years old), Sara's uncle, was convicted of causing or allowing her death, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison, after he was proven to have failed to save the girl.

The case dates back to August 2023, when Sara's body was found dead in a bunk bed inside her home in Surrey, southern England.

Sharif, Batool and Malik fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five siblings on 9 August 2023, the day before her body was found.

From Pakistan, Sharif called police in England and told the operator that he legally punished Sara and she died.

Forensic investigations revealed that Sara had more than 70 new external injuries when her body was found by police, including 11 fractures to her spine and signs of a traumatic brain injury.

The three adults flew back to the UK a month later, while all five children remain in Pakistan in the temporary care of a relative.

Sharif initially claimed that Batool was responsible for Sara's death, and told the jury he had made a false confession in the note and a subsequent phone call in order to protect his wife.

However, in a dramatic U-turn under cross-examination, Sharif later accepted full responsibility for his daughter's death.

Sara began wearing a hijab to hide her injuries in January 2023 after her primary school noticed bruises on her face. 

By April last year, she had been withdrawn to be home-schooled, despite teachers having noticed marks on her face and referred her to social services

In March 2023, a referral was made to social services after a member of school staff noticed Sara had bruises, but just six days later a decision was made by social services to take no further action on the referral.

Children's rights journalist Natasha Phillips criticized the failure of social services to help Sara Sharif.

Maria Neophytou, acting chief executive of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), said the shocking abuse Sara sustained raised questions regarding child safeguarding.

“To significantly reduce the likelihood of more of these terrible cases emerging, there needs to be substantial, nationwide reform and investment in the services which we rely on to keep our children safe,” she said.

Smacking Ban

In November 2020, Scotland became the first country in the UK to criminalise physical punishment of children.

In March 2022, smacking and slapping children became illegal in Wales.

Currently, smacking children in England and Northern Ireland is legal within the limits of reasonable punishment, meaning it is only criminalised if it exceeds a certain threshold.

There are 65 countries that completely ban physical punishment of children, while 27 others have pledged to reform their laws to achieve a complete legal ban.

On 17 December, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill was introduced in Parliament. The bill is a proposal for new laws to protect children and improve education.

But while Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the bill would put children first at every turn, it doesn’t not include a smacking ban.

Instead, she said the government will wait to see how a ban on smacking in Wales works before outlawing it in England.

Other Cabinet ministers, including David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, have previously spoken out against a smacking ban in England.

Former children’s minister Tim Loughton warned that banning smacking would be a red herring, and that greater resources should be given to supporting social workers.

Reasonable Punishment

Many children’s charities have campaigned for smacking to be made illegal.

Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said she will team up with MPs to bring in a ban on smacking children, which could come into force by the end of 2025.

She plans to work with parliamentarians to push for amendments to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools bill, expected to be published imminently, to outlaw the practice.

She noted that she wanted to ensure that children have equal protection to assault as adults – or even the same protection as animals.

Last April, a report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health warned that smacking children could lead to them developing violent behaviour and suffering mental health problems later in life.

“Evidence showed that smacking children significantly increased the likelihood of them suffering mental health problems, doing poorly at school and being physically abused or exploited,” it said.

“Smacking children should be banned because it’s violence, and violence is immoral. This isn’t a scientific or medical question,” said Scottish psychologist Stuart Ritchie.

“More needs to be done to address the issue of child beating within some families,” said Yasmin alibhai-brown, a British journalist and author.

Dr. Krish Kandiah wrote: “I am supportive of a ban on smacking, but it cannot be allowed to distract from the radical change needed in children's social care.”