A little about the history of spanking in Sweden…

In the Wikipedia article about House spanking you can read (in my amateur-translation):

“House spanking was earlier a punishing method that meant that the master, housefather and housemother had the right to corporally punish (spank) children and servants. The wife was also subordinated to her husband [or if she wasn’t married she was subordinated to her father her whole life if I remember right? So talk about oppression].

The house spanking reflected the pre-industrial society where accessible sanction methods principally consisted of corporal punishment and death penalty [death penalty is forbidden in Sweden]. Since the nineteenth century this has become replaced with paying money and incarceration in Western societies.

Some Swedish county laws from the Middle Age said that the master (housefather) had the right to spank his wife, his children and servants ‘with moderation’ [and what was ‘moderate’?].

However, in the 1734 year law there were no regulations about the man’s right to spank his wife. Different soldier’s regulations came the years 1664-1833 and there the right for the housefather and housemother to spank their servants were regulated [they were allowed to spank their servants].

1858 the right to use house spanking was reduced to spanking employed boys under 18 years and employed girls under 16 years. This was abolished entirely in Sweden 1920.”

According to the Wikipedia-article on “Spanking” you can read about Sweden that

“Parents’ right to spank their children was abolished 1966 in Sweden. An explicit ban is valid since March 15, 1979.”

This means that the penalty directions about assault and battery in the Criminal Code in Sweden even includes child spanking. School spanking was banned 1958 when the new Volksschule was introduced.

House spanking was definitely forbidden 1920, when the housefather’s right to corporally spank juvenile employees was abolished. Ship’s officers’ right to spank ceased 1922.

Investigations have shown that the attitude towards spanking has changed powerfully during the twentieth century in Sweden. For instance 53 % of the adults were positive to corporal spanking of children 1965 compared to 11 % 1994.

I have used these sources: “House spanking” (or husaga), “The old Farmer society” (or det gam la bondesamhället), “Spanking” in English and “Aga” in Swedish, “The Criminal Code” and about the Swedish “Volksschule.”

All sorts of spanking should become banned wherever they occur in this world. No matter what society, religion etc. that allows or uses it.

See Miller on what happens around the world in for instance Rwanda, former Yugoslavia (Serbia), Afghanistan etc.hits on her site about spanking.

And I want to add that I don't think all people here in Sweden spanked their kids, wives, servants even if they were allowed during history. But unfortunately a lot did I guess. Because it was societally approved of. And it was the same all over the world in ancient times?

How do we deal with societies, religions etc. still allowing these things today? And on how many places in this world do such things still exist and are seen as natural?

By pointing out and showing how harmful these things are? By referring to recent findings in research and science? And not least by expressing our outrage when we hear about such things? By trying to use arguments against it? Not with showing more of the same to them (how tempting this would even be)? But no, I don't say that this is easy!

If I had more time now I would search for research showing how harmful spanking is (for instance for the brain). But here are links concerning child abuse and brain damage on Alice Miller's site. For instance see this letter by a Norwegian man. He for instance mentions "the CIC-study" or "The Children in Community Study" from New York.

My maternal grandmother grew up in a strictly religious family, they were Laestadians, and I think they used corporal punishment. And other forms of abuse to. Hypocritically talking about love and for the children's best and such things.

And all those examples, no matter how big or small the religion, society, culture, tradition, party or group supporting or using these methods or what sort of society,group, tradition, culture, should be pulled into light and condemned. Even single individuals using it, not belonging to any particular group.

Not just some of them should become brought to light, but as many as possible. And many people have also started doing this. Writing about cases occurring even in our civilized world. Yes, we should continue talking about those things and bring them up. And maybe do it even more than we do!?

And see Jonathan H. Pincus on societal approval in "Hitler and Hatred." I want to add that I think it's possible to recover! But it probably demands a lot of work (a work that COULD have been avoided and years of our lives that shouldn't have become wasted!).

Addition after lunch:see links about childhood abuse and its consequences for the latter health (not least the somatic)

• ACE-study
• CDC-site
• Child abuse and brain damage - letter to Alice Miller
• Child abuse hurts the brain
• Different articles
• Experts discuss lifelong impact of early childhood adversity
• Interview with Jack Shonkoff
• Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in February 2008
• Powerpoint and diagrams
• Professor Martin Teicher in an article in which he states 4 abnormalities that result from abuse in the first 4 years of a child’s life
• Verbal abuse hurts as much as sexual abuse