Physical punishment of children: Assessing the validity of the legal definition of “reasonable force”

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CECW Information Sheet #71E. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work.

In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada set out seven criteria to distinguish reasonable from abusive corrective force with children. This information sheet summarizes a study that assessed the validity of the criteria defining reasonable corrective force by mapping them onto a nationally representative data set of substantiated cases of physical abuse.

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Information Sheet #71