Our most urgent task is to increase political support for a legal ban on physical punishment. More than 280 Westminster parliamentarians are already signed up to the aims of Children Are Unbeatable! (see current parliamentary support). We need to significantly increase this number to achieve legal reform.
If your Member of Parliament is not on our list of supporters, please write to him/her (or to any other MP, Government Minister or member of the House of Lords whom you have contact with). To find out who your MP is, go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ and enter your post-code. This will provide your MP’s name and contact details (email and constituency address, or write to them at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA).
What should you say in your letter?
Explain that you are a constituent, and that you are a supporter of the Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance, the broadest campaign coalition ever assembled on a children’s issue, bringing together more than 600 organisations and many more individuals.
Explain that the campaign for equal protection is a cross-party one and that there is already considerable support for this long-overdue social reform in both Houses of Parliament.
Summarise your case for outlawing physical punishment. For example:
- that children are the smallest and most fragile of citizens yet the current law on assault gives them less protection than adults,
- that physical punishment undermines efforts to promote effective parenting, and hinders child protection and domestic violence prevention,
- that the UK is in breach of its obligations under important human rights agreements such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Social Charter,
- that most European countries have already taken this step, with no adverse consequences.
Include any personal experiences you have had as an adult or as a child which can illustrate your arguments. If you are a parent, say so.
Urge your MP to join you in supporting the Alliance and attach or print out and enclose this form for him or her to sign.