'This will destroy families as the bedrock of our society'- Lobby group reacts to spanking ban
18 September 2019
Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) says it is fuming after the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling on Wednesday that declared corporal punishment at home unconstitutional.
The apex court upheld a 2017 ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, which declared that it was unconstitutional for parents to use corporal punishment to admonish their children and found that spanking children violated their rights.
Reacting to the unanimous Constitutional Court judgment, FOR SA said the ruling effectively meant "parents who physically correct their children - no matter how light or well-intentioned - will be committing the crime of assault and open themselves up to the full penal machinery of the state".
In a statement, FOR SA attorney Daniela Ellerbeck said the ruling seriously eroded parents' rights to religious freedom.