New Child Protection Law in Poland
4August 4, 2010 by Aleksandra Łuczak
Poland introduced new child protection law on 1 August.
The new law will prevent domestic violence and protect children’s rights. Now spanking children will be penalized. In addition – according to new law – a social worker accompanied by a police officer and a doctor can take away the child from his or her toxic parents. Court will have 24 hours to confirm such a decision.
The new law also obliges doctors to report to the police all the cases when they suspect home violence. So far they have not had such an obligation even in the cases when they offered medical help to the victims of child abusers.
What is your opinion about spanking? Do you support the new law? Or do you believe that sometimes a naughty child deserves a smack (pol. klaps)?
Have your say!
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Domestic violence should be by all means treated as a penal act but if we deprive all parents who happened to give their child a smack of their parental rights, we won’t have families in Poland anymore. I have to say that I’ve also received one but it was just once in my entire childhood. And I suppose my father had a good reason since I’ve spitted three times some kind of a medicine on him before he lost his temper. I’m sure something like this won’t fall under the category of ‘domestic violence’, but I’m admitting that I didn’t get acquainted with the whole content of the new law. Surely it have to be distinguished somehow, violence and a simple smack?
Sometimes it could be very hard to find out about a child being beaten, because children might be afraid to tell someone or they just don’t know where should they look for help. I think it is good that now doctors are obliged to report every time they suspect something, maybe it will help to rescue some children.
There are other options than a smack. I think that parents should teach their children that violence is not the only way of solving problems. They should teach them how to talk. Child has to understand what he did wrong and exactly why is it wrong. A smack unfortunately does not fulfill this role. I am very happy because of the obligation putted on doctors to report cases of home violence. I know that sometimes victims doesn’t want to report this fact , but they are terrified , and often lonely.
I think that this law sounds good. We should protect little kids from violence and sometimes they are too afraid or even unconscious to say that they’re getting hurt. Of course there are people who say that no one should ever questioned the way how parents raise their children, but this law is only about protecting the one who get hurt. I dont find “slap” as good way to raise your child but as far as its not causing a big damage to the kid, feel free to use it.
Nowadays, this problem is very serious. Each parent understands discipling the kid differently. Unfortunately, there are usually helpless so they want to gain attention by using violence. Parents often move their frustration on a child. At the beginning it is always innocent and in fact one slight smack does not harm…but with the time parents can loose the control. Often they think that more frequent and stronger intervention gets across to child in a successful way. There is a very thin line between the normal slap and mutilation.
I really hope that doctors will perform the new duty. Bruises on all the child’s body are immediately conscpicuous and rarely we can find other reasonable explanation.