Juliet Holness maintains stance against corporal punishment

WESTERN BUREAU:

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Juliet Holness remains adamant that corporal punishment should not be used as a means of disciplining children.

She first voiced the view in 2016. 

Holness repeated her views Wednesday while speaking to The Gleaner at an awards ceremony for high-performing Primary Exit Profile students in the St James Southern constituency, at the Mt Carey Baptist Church in the western parish. 

The St Andrew East Rural MP declared that while support for corporal punishment is influenced by the maxim 'spare not the rod and spoil the child', the punishment does not help the affected parties to resolve conflict through communication.

She argued that the practice has its roots in the days of slavery when it was used to punish enslaved persons. 

“In my observation over the years, and having been a parent myself and having been a child who was spanked, it is not the best way to get our children to listen. It really does not force them to listen,” said Holness.

Controversy surrounding the issue of corporal punishment arose in 2016 when Holness, the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness, called for the practice to be abolished, labeling it as misguided and borderline abusive.

There's still significant public support for the measure. 

The Prime Minister stated at a funeral on July 31 that his administration was committed to outlawing the practice. He did not give a timeline.

- Christopher Thomas

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