Legal+Issues

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= = =Smacking code to stay: Bligh= **7:23p.m. 23rd November 2008** A controversial law that allows parents to use "reasonable force" when disciplining children is set to stay. The justice department review, which studied 200 cases of violence against children, found the defence in section 280 of the criminal code did not serve as a loophole for violent parents. "There is no excuse for using excessive violence towards a child and under Queensland law there is nowhere for violent parents to hide," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said in a statement. "I am confident that parents who assault their children will face the full force of the law." Out of the 200 cases studied, only three could have used the defence, but those cases did not even make it to court. But the review turned up some disturbing results. "A the same time, this review revealed some shocking cases involving parents using weapons or their fists to discipline or slapping their children about the head," the premier said. "This, of course, is a far cry from smacking. "It is not discipline. It is assault and appalling behaviour from any parent, and police and the courts have responded accordingly." Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine said: "Clearly, if you use excessive force to discipline your child it is a criminal act, not to mention morally bankrupt, and what we have found is that parents guilty of this behaviour are punished". The audit put the cases into three general assault categories - 29 were categorised as child abuse, 35 as domestic or family violence and 134 as excessive discipline. Of the excessive discipline cases, 23 were discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions due to a lack of evidence or a complainant not proceeding. Nine are yet to be finalised. In the remaining matters, 92.7 per cent of defendants pleaded guilty while two defendants were acquitted. The two acquittals did not rely on a defence using the controversial section 280.
 * | By Angela Harper-Erini **


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