Southern African Perspectives on Banning Corporal Punishment – a Comparison of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe

This chapter reviews corporal punishment in multiple settings – penal, educational and in the home – in four southern African countries which share common legal heritages. The principal focus is the respective role of legislatures, the executive and the judiciary in moving towards abolition (or not). The chapter highlights some pitfalls of failing to approach an abolitionist agenda with the necessary sensitivity to the nuances between the roles of the respective arms of government. Although the Canadian judgment of Canadian Foundation for Child Youth and the Law v Attorney General, Canada (2000) may present an unwelcome counterweight, the chapter nevertheless concludes that as far as corporal punishment in the home is concerned at least, judicial abolition is more likely than parliamentary acquiescence in prevailing parliamentary systems in the sub-region.