The case against corporal punishment of children: Converging evidence from social science research and international human rights law and implications for U.S. public policy.

It will come as no surprise to readers that corporal punishment of children is a controversial issue throughout the United States, including within academia, in political arenas, and among the public at large. The academic debate is largely divided into those who argue that corporal punishment in some circumstances is effective and sometimes necessary to discipline children (Baumrind, 1996; Larzelere, 1993) and those who assert that there is very little benefit and rather a substantial risk of harm from using corporal punishment on children (Gershoff, 2002; Lytton, 1997; McCord, 1997; Straus, 2001). The debate also continues among the public, with popular press newspapers and magazines continuing to publish articles each year regarding the debate about pros and cons of using corporal punishment with children. In 2006 alone, articles appeared in American Baby (Lorenzi, 2006), Men’s Health (“Corporal Punishment,” 2006), The New York Times (Lyman, 2006), Parenting (O’Callaghan, 2006), Time (Paul, 2006), and USA Today (Jones, 2006), among many other similar publications. What may come as more of a surprise to Americans is that discussions of corporal punishment of children outside the United States have moved beyond