Corporal (physical) chastisement (punishment) has been part of most of ours and our ancestors lives for generations. It is a swift way of obtaining domination over a child and is frequently, and infrequently, used to instil fear and to act as a deterrent to future misbehaviour. However, science has come a long way and we now know that, for example, corporal punishment leads to increased aggression and is detrimental to the development of the human brain. Academic studies show us that punishment does nothing to change bad behaviour in the long term and that it is a predictor of domestic abusers and bullies. It can affect the relationships that we have with our parents, often producing secretive children who dare not speak or who lie through fear of punishment, shame and humiliation. The long term implications of violence and stress on the brain are very well understood. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child all children have an inalienable right to freedom from harm. The defense of Reasonable Chastisement breaches their rights and is a direct contravention of this law. Trauma, of which corporal punishment is a form, produces identifiable and predictable responses in the human body. The same applies to the brain. This can impact an individual’s future in hugely significant ways. Their risk for poor mental and physical health is dramatically increased as well as a heightened risk for developing drug and alcohol dependency, being incarcerated and being a future victim of violence and domestic abuse, for committing death by suicide and other extreme behaviours. Studies show that countries which have adopted a full ban have seen a reduction in child on child (bullying) violence as a result (Sweden). Bullying and abusive behaviour continues to be a serious problem in England, it frequently starts in the home and affects us long after we leave. How we treat our children influences how they will go on to treat others and if we are violent and don’t respect their boundaries and rights, we cannot expect them to behave any differently. Being hit and hurt by people who are meant to love and protect you is a terrible thing to experience and there is, quite simply, no justification for it. Our Government must end it, now.