TOPICS  A to Z

Abolition of judicial corporal punishment

- Australia: Federal level, 1914; South Australia, 1971; Tasmania, 1973; New South Wales, 1974; ACT, 1974; NT, 1974; Western Australia, 1993

- Austria, 1867

- Barbados, 1992 (for adults; JCP remains lawful for juvenile offenders)

- Bermuda, 1999

- Canada, 1972

- Chile, 1928

- China, 1909

- Denmark, 1911

- Fiji: ruled unconstitutional in 2002 (but N.B. courts still ordering it in 2005)

- Finland, 1889 (for adults; JCP was still in use for juveniles in the 1930s)

- Hong Kong, 1990

- Ireland, 1997 (but it had fallen into disuse long before that)

- Isle of Man, 1993 (last used in 1976)

- Jamaica, 1998

- Jersey (Channel Islands), 1969

- Kenya, 2000 (but N.B. still being ordered in 2002)

- South Africa, 1997

- Tanzania (Zanzibar only), 2004

- UK, 1948 (England, Wales, Scotland, but not Northern Ireland)

- Uganda, 2002

- United States: Delaware, 1972 (last used in 1952)

- Zambia, outlawed by courts, 1999; abolition agreed by Parliament, 2003

Abolition of school corporal punishment

- American Samoa, 1998

- Australia: Capital Territory: state schools, 1988; all schools, 1997

- Australia: New South Wales (state schools), 1986

- Australia: New South Wales (all schools), 1997

- Australia: Queensland (state schools), 1995

- Australia: Tasmania, 1999

- Australia: Victoria (state schools), 1983

- Australia: Western Australia (state schools), 1987

- Bangladesh, 1999

- Canada, 2004

- Canada: Alberta: Northern Gateway district, 2003

- Canada: Alberta: Peace Wapiti, 2004

- Canada: Ontario: Toronto district, 1971

- Canada: Quebec, mid-1960s

- Canada: Saskatchewan: Regina district, 1987

- Canada: Saskatchewan, 2005

- Cayman Islands, 2005

- China, 1949 (but still unlawfully in use in 2005)

- Cyprus, 1967

- Fiji: ruled unconstitutional in 2002 but not yet legislatively abolished

- Germany, 1983

- Greece: secondary schools, 2005

- India: Andhra Pradesh, 2002

- India: Delhi region, 2000

- India: Orissa, 2004

- India: West Bengal, 2004

- Ireland, 1982

- Japan, 1947

- Kenya, 2001 (but N.B. still in use in 2004)

- New Zealand, 1990

- Nigeria: Rivers State, 2005

- Pakistan: North West Frontier Province, 2004

- Pakistan: North West Frontier Province (again), 2005

- Pakistan: Punjab, 2000

- Pakistan: Sindh, 2002

- Philippines: Negros Oriental, 2004

- Poland, 2001

- Saudi Arabia, date unknown

- South Africa, 1996

- South Korea: 1998; reintroduced in 1999

- Taiwan: in theory banned by Ministry regulation, 2004

- Taiwan: prohibited by law, 2006

- Thailand, 2005

- Trinidad & Tobago, 2001

- Uganda, 1997, ban evidently not put into practice

- Uganda, 2006

- UK campaign to abolish gets under way, 1972

- UK: Inner London, 1981

- UK: state schools (and state-funded pupils in private schools), 1987

- UK: private schools except in Northern Ireland, 1998

- UK: Northern Ireland private schools, 2003

- USA: Alabama: Birmingham, 1998

- USA: Alabama: Madison City, 1999

- USA: Alabama: Mobile, 2003

- USA: Alabama: Ozark City, 1999

- USA: Arkansas: Conway, 2006

- USA: Arkansas: Fayetteville, 2002

- USA: Arkansas: Hughes, c.2004

- USA: Arkansas: Rogers, 2005

- USA: Arkansas: Winslow, c.1997

- USA: California: Iowa Hill, 1936

- USA: California: John Swett district (Crockett/Rodeo), 1982

- USA: California: Los Angeles, 1975; reintroduced, 1980 and abolished again, 1984

- USA: California, 1986

- USA: Colorado: Littleton, 1988

- USA: Delaware, 2003

- USA: District of Columbia, 1918

- USA: Florida: Duval County (includes Jacksonville), 2005

- USA: Florida: Manatee County, 1989

- USA: Georgia: Cherokee County, 2003

- USA: Georgia: Fayette, 1996

- USA: Georgia: Glynn County, 2005

- USA: Georgia: Henry County, 1998

- USA: Georgia: Lanier, c.1986; reintroduced 2005

- USA: Illinois, 1994

- USA: Indiana: East Allen, 1989

- USA: Indiana: Elkhart, 2005

- USA: Indiana: Fort Wayne, 1988

- USA: Indiana: Indianapolis, 2004

- USA: Indiana: Merrillville, 2004

- USA: Indiana: Michigan City, 2007

- USA: Indiana: Mishawaka, 2003

- USA: Indiana: Penn-Harris-Madison, 2001

- USA: Indiana: South Bend, 1991

- USA: Indiana: Southwest Allen, 1989

- USA: Kansas: Halstead-Bentley, 1997

- USA: Kentucky, 1991; reintroduced, 1992

- USA: Louisiana: East Baton Rouge, 2002

- USA: Louisiana: St James Parish, 2004

- USA: Louisiana: Terrebonne, 2002

- USA: Michigan, 1989

- USA: Minnesota: Minneapolis, 1986

- USA: Mississippi: Starkville, 2005

- USA: Missouri: Fox, 2004

- USA: Missouri: New Franklin, 2005

- USA: Missouri: Nixa, 2005

- USA: Missouri: Plato, 2005

- USA: Missouri: St Louis, 1981

- USA: Montana, 1991

- USA: New York State: Mechanicville, 1981

- USA: New York State, 1985

- USA: North Carolina: Alamance-Burlington, 2007

- USA: North Carolina: Cumberland County, 1997

- USA: North Carolina: Hickory, 1994

- USA: North Carolina: New Hanover County, 1991

- USA: North Carolina: Union County, 2007

- USA: Ohio: Ashland, 2004

- USA: Ohio: Chillicothe, 1999

- USA: Ohio: Toledo, 1993

- USA: Oklahoma: Duncan, c.1992; reintroduced 1996

- USA: Oklahoma: Norman, 1988

- USA: Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, 1989

- USA: Oklahoma: Pike, 1999; reintroduced c.2002

- USA: Oklahoma: Sallisaw, 2005

- USA: Oregon, 1989

- USA: Pennsylvania: Erie, 1997

- USA: Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh, 1977

- USA: Pennsylvania: South-Eastern, 2002

- USA: Pennsylvania: Washington, 2004

- USA: Pennsylvania, 2005

- USA: South Carolina: Orangeburg, 2003

- USA: Tennessee: Maryville, 2005

- USA: Tennessee: Memphis, 2004

- USA: Tennessee: Murfreesboro, 2001

- USA: Tennessee: Nashville, 2002

- USA: Texas: Angleton, 2003

- USA: Texas: Boyd, 2006

- USA: Texas: Bryan, 1999

- USA: Texas: Dallas, 2005

- USA: Texas: Fort Worth, 1999

- USA: Texas: Frisco, 2006

- USA: Texas: Galveston, 2003

- USA: Texas: Hitchcock, 2002

- USA: Texas: Houston, 2001

- USA: Texas: Katy, 1993

- USA: Texas: McAllen, 2004

- USA: Texas: Mesquite, 2005

- USA: Texas: Mexia, 2003

- USA: Texas: Plano, 2006

- USA: Texas: Sheldon, 2002

- USA: Texas: Spring, 2005

- USA: Texas: Waco, 2005

- USA: Utah, 1992

- USA: Virginia, 1989

- USA: Washington State: Seattle, 1984

- Zambia, 2004

Abolition of prison corporal punishment

- Bermuda, 1999

- Canada, 1972

- Denmark, 1933

- Egypt, 2001

- South Africa, 1994

- United Kingdom, 1967

Army, Singapore

- 1972 legislation providing for caning of soldiers under military law

- further legislation introduced, press report, 1975

Army, UK

- birching in UK military prisons, 19th century

- caning as initiation ceremony for teenage soldiers, known as "babooning", news report, 2005

- caning at Army Apprentice Schools, 1948 (now with video)

- colonel canes his batman (unofficial), 1953

- political row over UK soldiers caned abroad, 1955

- punishment of boy soldiers, Sons of the Brave, book review

Belt, see Strap

Birching, armed forces, UK

- in military prisons

- introduced for boys in the Royal Navy, 1860s

- unverified claim of birching (unofficial) in Royal Air Force training establishment, 1937

Birching, judicial penalty, Australia

- boy birched for indecency, press report of court case, 1957

- call for its use on violent criminals, 2000

- man birched for indecent assault, press report of court case, 1930

- politician calls for it to be brought back, 2004

Birching, judicial penalty, Bermuda

- government minister calls for it to be used again, 1996

Birching, judicial penalty, Germany

- for men, under Saxon Code of 1855

Birching, judicial penalty, Guernsey (Channel Islands)

- teenager ordered to be birched, report of court case, 1930

- 16-year-old describes his birching in press article, 1968

Birching, judicial penalty, Ireland

- four boys to be birched, press report, 1943

Birching, judicial penalty, Isle of Man

- famous case of four Scottish youths birched in 1965, press coverage, photo showing weals

- of teenage males up to 1976 (though not formally abolished until 1993), illustrated feature article

Birching, judicial penalty, Jersey (Channel Islands)

- abolished in 1969

- 15-year-old describes his birching in press article, 1964

- teenage youths birched for assault, two separate cases in one month, press reports, 1962

- typical prewar court case, three teen youths birched, 1939

Birching, judicial penalty (juvenile), New Zealand

- press account of court case, 1902

Birching, judicial penalty, Trinidad & Tobago

- press account of court case, 1999

- birchings still being upheld by appeal court, 2004

Birching, judicial penalty, UK

- abolished in 1948; reintroduction unsuccessfully proposed in 1953

- politicians again call for it to be brought back, 1956

- further unsuccessful attempt at reintroduction, 1982

- police chief calls for reintroduction, 1987

- tabloid newspaper demands its reintroduction, 1993

- retired senior judge suggests it be considered again,1993

- of juvenile by local court, press report of typical English case, 1886

- juvenile court, press report of typical English case, 1911

- juvenile court, press report of typical English case, 1937

- juvenile birching in Scotland, historical overview and description

- of adult men, especially for robbery with violence, article

- press report of one of the last adult birching sentences, 1948

- unsuccessful parliamentary attempt to extend magistrates' birching powers to boys of 15 and 16 in England and Wales, 1900

Birching, prison discipline, Bermuda

- rules for infliction, 1951

Birching, prison discipline, Papua New Guinea

- rules for infliction, 1938

Birching, prison discipline, UK

- inaccurate press description in 1964

- memorandum from Home Office to prisons, 1951

- prisoner birched for attacking warder, press report, 1954

Birching, schools, England

- Eton College, ceremonial "swiping" by headmaster, continued until c.1963

- Eton College, picture of birch and birching block in school museum (EXTERNAL LINK to UK "Corporal punishment archive" website)

- Eton College, unsourced descriptions of birching (EXTERNAL LINK to UK "Corporal punishment archive" website)

- fantasy "birching machine", drawing in boys' magazine, probably c.1920s

- gradually replaced by cane in most schools: timescale and possible reasons

- pictures of widely differing sizes of birch used in different schools (EXTERNAL LINK to UK "Corporal punishment archive" website)

Boys

(see also Birching/schools/England, Caning/schools/....., Paddling in US schools)

- 42 youths fined, put in reformatory for 25 days and then flogged for rioting, destroying cars and disturbing women, Saudi Arabia, 2004

- boy actor ordered caned by Zimbabwe court for going to bed with his girlfriend, 2002

- boy publicly strapped in Pakistan, 1997

- boy seamen flogged across bare buttocks on board UK ships, 19th century, illustrated feature article

- boy soldiers' punishments described, Sons of the Brave, book review

- boy of 14 publicly flogged in Iran, for drinking alcohol, 2001

- caned and tawsed in Scottish schools, illustrated feature article

- caned at UK reformatories esp. for absconding

- caned, allegedly excessively, at Court Lees Approved School, UK, 1967, illustrated feature article

- caned by order of tribal court, Sudan, British colonial era (pre-1955), eyewitness account

- caning of, for offences against reformatory discipline, Hong Kong, 1977 regulations

- caning of, at Northern Ireland borstal, introduced in 1930

- caning of boy servant, UK, 1795, upheld in court case

- canings filmed in "aerodynamics experiment", New Zealand, 1981

- canings of, frequent occurrence in Singapore schools, overview, see also official rules and school handbooks

- canings of, by order of the court, for 'political' offences, Cyprus, 1956, several press reports

- court orders 15-year-old to be caned there and then by his father, Malaysia, 1997

- court orders 17-year-old to drop his pants for on-the-spot caning in the courtroom, Tanzania, 2006

- eyewitness account of school paddling of, Texas, 1981

- flogged in front of a girls' school by order of the court, Saudi Arabia, 2004

- flogged unofficially in the street by police, India, 2007, video clip

- judicial birching and caning of, Isle of Man, illustrated feature article

- judicial birching of, Scotland pre-1948, brief overview

- judicial caning of, Brunei, typical court case, 2004

- judicial caning of, Nigeria, for allowing themselves to be sodomised, 2003

- judicial caning of, South Africa, up to 1995, feature article

- judicial caning of, Swaziland, court case, 2005

- juvenile court may not order caning in Singapore

- made to change into silky shorts to be caned, UK reformatory, 1980s

- may be caned at army apprentice school up to age 17½, instead of being confined to barracks, if parents agree, UK, 1948, press report and video clip

- may be paddled if they do not tuck their shirts into their pants, new dress code at Florida school, USA, 2002

- paddled at Canadian RC college, even in senior grades, 1979

- paddled by police chief as part of juvenile diversion program, Ohio, USA, 2004

- paddled by teammates on coach's orders, Texas school, 2002

- paddled more often than girls in US schools, press report

- paddled schoolboys and their complaining mothers, USA, 2005, video clips from TV news

- publicly caned in Singapore schools, present day, video clips

- publicly flogged in Saudi Arabia for harassing women, 2002

- publicly strapped in Bermuda school, press reports, 1998

- Purley High School for, near London, caning at, feature article

- received "licks on their seat" at school in 1930s Guyana

- shown video of prison caning to deter them from life of crime, Singapore, 2002

- spanked by driver on school bus, Alabama, 2002

- spanked over seat of trousers in open court, Indiana, 1962

- spanking of by sports coach does not constitute sexual assault, court ruling, UK, 2003

- senior, paddled in US schools, Tennessee case, 1959, illustrated press report

- to be caned only on the buttocks, new government guidelines, South Korea, 2002