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21 Whittier L. Rev. 147 (1999-2000)
Spare the Rod, Embrace Human Rights: International Law's Mandate against All Corporal Punishment of Children

handle is hein.journals/whitlr21 and id is 157 raw text is: SPARE THE ROD, EMBRACE HUMAN RIGHTS: INTERNATIONAL LAW'S MANDATE AGAINST ALL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN SUSAN H. BITENSKY* If your adult neighbor engaged in annoying or objectionable be- havior, would you hit him? Probably not. What if that neighbor had less than average adult physical or mental abilities? Given his relative vul- nerability, you would be even less likely to knock some sense into him. And, if you loved that neighbor as if he were a family member, hitting him would seem a downright bizarre way of dealing with the situation. Now, imagine that the offender is your child-typically a person of less than average adult abilities and a person whom you love as a family member. Would you hit him?' Many American parents would do so with the conviction that responsible child rearing requires no less. Many adults were spanked as children, and most American chil- 2 dren continue to be spanked. It is generally assumed in our society that parents, and in some jurisdictions, teachers, should be able to spank * Professor of Law, Michigan State University, Detroit College of Law, J.D., University of Chicago Law School (1974); B.A., Case Western Reserve University (1971). 1. Cf Susan H. Bitensky, Spare the Rod, Embrace Our Humanity: Toward a New Legal Regime Prohibiting Corporal Punishment of Children, 31 U. MICH. J.L. REFORM 353, 435 (1998) (setting forth a similar hypothetical problem). 2. Id. at 354, 355 & n.3.

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