An abused child will grow up to become an abuser

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Editor:

Re: (‘Court to decide whether this spanking was a criminal act,’ July 12):

I am angry, angry because our species just doesn’t get it that abuse is abuse.

We just don’t get it that children have rights and spanking a three-year-old is absolute crazy. I can still hear her screams as I write. I can still see her struggling to get a breath as the terror envelopes her.

The child has no defence and certainly little understanding when extreme force is used to set “educational” boundaries.

Leaving welts on a child that last for a week is criminal. Justifying the act of abuse and not taking any responsibility is criminal. Not being able to express compassion and empathy for a child embarking on a life filled with lots of expression and personality development is criminal.

Such acts of abuse need to have a punishment set for the adult offender that sends a clear message.

The Supreme Court of Canada refused to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code. Instead, it offered advice on parenting children.

What it said was parents may spank within “reasonable limits” and take “corrective force” against children between the ages of two and 12.

Study after study show abused children abuse.

Think what it must be like for a child to receive punishment from an adult who towers above them.

The child loses their voice to express feelings and emotions.

The child buries those inside as trauma. The child learns no expression of self is what love must represent.

Leaving welts and handprints on a precious child is not “reasonable”; it is abusive and criminal.

The court said it was unacceptable to hit a child with an object, like a belt or paddle. Blows and slaps to the child’s head would also be unacceptable.

Is not the human hand striking a child with adult muscle and angered force behind it also an object?

There are many, many other ways to conduct communication and consequences with our children. Education and materials are available. The smart, conscious parent takes the time to grow and change.

I hope the courts enforce this assault. The offender needs education if it is practical. For a time, he needs to have supervision. There may be cultural interferences to consider as well.

We need to do everything we can to protect this child from further abuse.

I solicit all of us to stand up for the end of abuse.

We need to stop abusing our children, our wives, our husbands, our employees, our friends and our animals.

Also, cloaking women in a burqas, restricting and cocooning them away from the full breath of light and life, simply isn’t justified in this free country.

At times, our cultural control of women is also abusive.

Think before you act. Put yourself in the position of the person receiving the action. We all deserve the opportunity to express our voice and develop our sense of Self without having someone restrict our essence.

Dennis Paget

Kamloops