The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposed amendment to the Civil Code that would prohibit parents from harming the mental and physical health of their children when disciplining them.
Article 1085 of the Civil Code stipulates that parents may, within the limit of necessity, punish their children. The article is widely perceived as a legal basis that establishes the right of parents to punish their children.
The amendment proposed by the Ministry of Justice would delete the statement and change it to: “Parents should protect and raise underage children by considering their age and mental development and respecting their character. They must not engage in violent behaviors that harm mental and physical health.”
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The proposed changes face further deliberation in the legislature.
The ministry said it consulted Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Control Yuan’s National Human Rights Commission, adding that the wording of the proposed amendment is in line with similar statutes that Japan and South Korea passed in the past few years.
The purpose of the proposed change is to clarify the principle that parents should follow when they exercise their right to discipline their children, the ministry said, adding that supporting measures would be stipulated in the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法).
Minister Without Portfolio Lin Min-hsin (林明昕) said that courts in multiple cases have established that parents must not harm their children’s mental and physical health when disciplining them, a “red line” that parents must not cross.
The judicial system and parental education policies would not change significantly because of the proposed amendment, Lin said.
The proposal is not intended to prohibit parental discipline of their children, Department of Protective Services Deputy Director Kuo Tsai-jung (郭彩榕) said.
“We hope that they would adopt a more positive approach,” Kuo said.
The Ministry of Education said that parents can seek advice at family education centers across the country.
They can also consult the ministry’s family education Web site at https://familyedu.moe.gov.tw or call the family education hotline on (02) 412-8185, the education ministry added.
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