CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mother and father who cross the road from self-discipline to abuse may face 4 to 6 years in jail.
This was what the Supreme Court docket (SC) reiterated in its determination made public on January 9, stating that extreme self-discipline harming a toddler’s dignity qualifies as youngster abuse underneath Philippine regulation.
The SC upheld the conviction of a father who subjected his 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son to violent and degrading punishments between 2017 and 2018.
The court docket emphasised that whereas dad and mom have the precise to self-discipline their kids, such measures should not lead to violence or hurt to the kid’s dignity.
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Disciplining children turns into youngster abuse if it harms dignity, says SC
In its determination penned by Affiliate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, the SC’s Second Division dominated that the daddy’s actions, together with kicking his daughter, pulling her hair, putting her with a wood rod embedded with a nail, hitting each kids with a dustpan, and cursing them, constituted youngster abuse.
The daddy claimed his actions have been meant to self-discipline the kids for misbehavior, comparable to failing to eat lunch or shedding cash from their financial savings.
Nevertheless, the SC discovered that his violent and extreme measures confirmed a transparent intent to hurt the kids’s dignity, a key criterion for youngster abuse underneath Republic Act No. 7610, also called the Particular Safety of Kids In opposition to Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
“Disciplining kids mustn’t ever debase, degrade, or demean their intrinsic value as human beings,” the SC ruling mentioned.
The daddy was sentenced to 4 to 6 years in jail, fined P45,000, and ordered to pay P180,000 in damages to his kids.
The SC clarified that not all instances of bodily self-discipline routinely quantity to youngster abuse. For it to qualify, there have to be proof of intent to hurt a toddler’s dignity.
In instances the place this intent is absent, the offender might face fees underneath different provisions of the Revised Penal Code. /clorenciana
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