(Press-News.org) To promote good parenting, Canada should remove section 43 of its Criminal Code because it sends the wrong message that using physical punishment to discipline children is acceptable, argues Dr. John Fletcher, Editor-in-Chief, CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) in an editorial.
Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada states "…a parent is justified in using force by way of correction…if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances."
The debate over whether spanking children is acceptable as a disciplinary tool for parents or whether it is violence against children is heated and ongoing. Although spanking was an accepted form of discipline for past generations, attitudes have shifted.
"So heated is this debate, and so long-running, that the question of whether spanking is morally 'right or wrong' is probably intractable," writes Dr. Fletcher. "A more promising line of enquiry, however, is whether the physical punishment of children is effective."
A recently published analysis in CMAJ (www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/02/06/cmaj.101314.full.pdf+html) that summarizes 20 years' of research on the topic suggests that physical punishment of children can result in increased childhood aggression and mental health issues in adulthood.
Rather than making spanking of children a crime, emphasis should be placed on educating parents on alternative forms of discipline. This could be done through parenting programs, which have been successful in teaching positive parenting and helping improve children's behaviour, offering them in the early years and when children enter school.
"Surely any bias should be toward protecting children, who are the most vulnerable," Dr. Fletcher writes. "To have a specific code excusing parents is to suggest that assault by a parent is a normal and accepted part of bringing up children. It is not. While section 43 stands, it is a constant excuse for parents to cling to an ineffective method of child discipline when better approaches are available. It is time for Canada to remove this anachronistic excuse for poor parenting from the statute book."
### END
Canada should remove section of Criminal Code that permits physical punishment of children
2012-09-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Ovarian cancer cells hijack surrounding tissues to enhance tumor growth
2012-09-04
Tumor growth is dependent on interactions between cancer cells and adjacent normal tissue, or stroma. Stromal cells can stimulate the growth of tumor cells; however it is unclear if tumor cells can influence the stroma. In the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center report that ovarian cancer cells activate the HOXA9 gene to compel stromal cells to create an environment that supports tumor growth.
Honami Naora and colleagues found that expression of HOXA9 was correlated with poor outcomes in cancer patients and ...
JCI early table of contents for Sept. 4, 2012
2012-09-04
Ovarian cancer cells hijack surrounding tissues to enhance tumor growth
Tumor growth is dependent on interactions between cancer cells and adjacent normal tissue, or stroma. Stromal cells can stimulate the growth of tumor cells; however it is unclear if tumor cells can influence the stroma. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center report that ovarian cancer cells activate the HOXA9 gene to compel stromal cells to create an environment that supports tumor growth.
Honami Naora and colleagues found that expression ...
EARTH: Antarctic trees surprise scientists
2012-09-04
Alexandria, VA – "Warm" and "Antarctica" are not commonly used in the same sentence; however, for scientists, "warm" is a relative term. A team of researchers has discovered that, contrary to previous thinking, the Antarctic continent has experienced periods of warmth since the onset of its most recent glaciation.
Lodged in ocean sediment nearly 20 million years old, ancient pollen and leaf wax samples taken from the Ross Ice Shelf suggest that two brief warming spells, each of which lasted less than 30,000 years, punctuated the omnipresent cold of Antarctica. Warm, ...
Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes
2012-09-04
A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research program and funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) looks at an important RNA binding protein called LIN28, which is implicated in pluripotency and reprogramming as well as in cancer and other diseases. According to the researchers, their study – published in the September 6 online issue of Molecular Cell – will change how scientists view this protein and its impact on human disease.
Studying embryonic stem cells and somatic cells stably expressing LIN28, the researchers defined ...
Spinach power gets a big boost
2012-09-04
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a way to combine the photosynthetic protein that converts light into electrochemical energy in spinach with silicon, the material used in solar cells, in a fashion that produces substantially more electrical current than has been reported by previous "biohybrid" solar cells.
The research was reported online on Sep. 4 in the journal Advanced Materials and Vanderbilt has applied for a patent on the combination.
"This combination produces current levels almost 1,000 times higher than we were ...
New study shows promise in using RNA nanotechnology to treat cancers and viral infections
2012-09-04
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 4, 2012) — A new study by University of Kentucky researchers shows promise for developing ultrastable RNA nanoparticles that may help treat cancer and viral infections by regulating cell function and binding to cancers without harming surrounding tissue.
The study, published in Nano Today, was carried out in the laboratory of Peixuan Guo, the William S. Farish Endowed Chair in Nanobiotechnology at the UK Markey Cancer Center, in collaboration with Dr. Mark Evers, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center.
The study uses RNA (ribonucleic acid) as ...
Sleep apnoea linked with increased risk of cancer death
2012-09-04
Vienna, Austria: Sleep apnoea severity has been associated with increased cancer mortality in a new study.
The research, which will be presented today (Tuesday 4 September 2012) at the European Respiratory Society's (ERS) Annual Congress in Vienna, adds to evidence presented earlier this year highlighting a link between severe sleep apnoea and cancer.
Two further studies presented at the ERS Congress, also show evidence suggesting an increase in cancer incidence among sleep apnoea patients and an association between the spread of cancer and sleep apnoea.
In the first ...
Smoking and natural disasters: Christchurch residents increase tobacco consumption post-earthquake
2012-09-04
Vienna, Austria: The prevalence of smoking in Christchurch, New Zealand, increased following the 2010 earthquake, according to a new study.
The results of the study will be presented today (4 September 2012) at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna.
The 7.1-magnitude Christchurch earthquake, and subsequent aftershocks, have caused a huge amount of damage and dramatically changed the social, working and living conditions for residents in the city.
To investigate the effects of the disaster on smoking levels, researchers from the Canterbury ...
Increase in respiratory symptoms following volcanic eruption
2012-09-04
Vienna, Austria: Exposure to volcanic ash can increase respiratory symptoms such as an extreme cough, or phlegm, according to a new study.
The research, which will be presented today (4 September 2012) at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna, investigated the effects of living close to the Icelandic Volcano, Eyjafjallajökull.
Eyjafjallajökull erupted in April 2010 and created a huge ash cloud which spread across Europe, causing widespread disruption to air travel on the continent.
Researchers from the University of Iceland have now examined ...
Deadly witch hunts targeted by grassroots women's groups
2012-09-04
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Witch hunts are common and sometimes deadly in the tea plantations of Jalpaiguri, India. But a surprising source – small groups of women who meet through a government loan program – has achieved some success in preventing the longstanding practice, a Michigan State University sociologist found.
Soma Chaudhuri spent seven months studying witch hunts in her native India and discovered that the economic self-help groups have made it part of their agenda to defend their fellow plantation workers against the hunts.
"It's a grassroots movement and it's ...