First Lady Raquel Arbaje calls for legislators to rectify the changes they have incorporated in the Penal Code that would allow violent discipline by parents towards children. In a tweet, the First Lady criticized that the legislators attempt to change the ruling of Article 123, Domestic Violence Law 24-97 and Rights of Children and Adolescents Law 136-03 to allow violent discipline by parents towards children.
Arbaje tweeted, “Approval of violent discipline in the draft Penal Code is a step backwards in the protection of the rights of children and adolescents.”
Attached to this message, she posted a full statement from the National Council for Children and Adolescents (Conani) and the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents (Gana-FID), that she presides, where they warn Dominican society about the setback in the protection of rights if, as recommended by the bicameral committee that is studying the draft Penal Code, the changes are approved.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) had denounced on Wednesday, 3 November 2021 that the draft of the Penal Code would now allow parents to use physical punishment against their children. The Unicef promotes positive discipline practices.
In a statement, the organization referred to a paragraph of article 123 of the proposed Penal Code, “which allows violent discipline in the home.” The Unicef statement says this would be a step backwards on the current legislation.
In a press release, the Unicef representative in the country, Rosa Elcarte, pointed out that the Penal Code “must protect children against violent discipline” and that violence “is never and will never be the solution, because it does not educate, does not help and should not be tolerated.”
“In an upper middle-income country, with the level of social and economic development that the Dominican Republic has, it cannot afford to have a Penal Code, in the 21st century, that authorizes parents to beat or mistreat their children, as was done in past decades,” Elcarte said.
The ENHOGAR 2019 survey, conducted by the National Statistics Office (ONE) with the support of Unicef, “showed a dramatic reality, and that is that, in Dominican territory, the highest percentage of children who suffer violent discipline is between the ages of 3 and 4,” the statement added.
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Noticias SIN
4 November 2021