DUE to severe beatings inflicted on him when he was a toddler, 24-year-old Mulenga Bwalya Mweso is hard of hearing in one ear.

"The maid used to beat me and slap me in the face. After a while, my parents noticed that I was having difficulties hearing from my left ear.

"They took me to hospital where it was established that my eardrums had ruptured," recounts Mweso.

While Mweso survived his childhood ordeal, other children have not. Case in point is the story of 15-year-old Dainess Moonga of Kabwe who died in August this year after she was allegedly beaten and burnt with hot water by her mother in a bid to discipline her.

The most recent case is that of a nine-year-old boy of Luanshya who died of injuries he sustained after his stepmother allegedly beat him.

Corporal punishment is an accepted form of child discipline in many societies. The legality of corporal punishment of children in Zambian homes is debatable.

Although assault is an offence there is no law that explicitly prohibits parents to use corporal punishment on their children.

Additionally, customary and cultural beliefs reinforce the right of parents to bring up their children in a way they see fit.

Corporal punishment has been prohibited in schools since 2003.

However, the Education Act does not include an explicit provision stating that corporal punishment of children in schools is prohibited. There is neither a clear overall prohibition that is accompanied with penalties.

There are provisions in the Juveniles Act allowing the use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure.

Rule 58.4 of the Reformatory Schools permits caning of young detainees as form of discipline.

According to the 2007 report on Child's Rights Situation in Zambia, information on the use of corporal punishment and other forms of humiliating and degrading punishment of children in childcare facilities is very limited.

However, there have been reports according to which this form of punishment is practiced by some Housefathers and mothers at different shelters and care facilities for children.

And the 2006 United Nations Study on Violence Against Children reveals that most children in orphanages, children's homes, police cells, prisons, juvenile detention facilities and reformatory schools are subjected to violence.

The study further reveals that in at least 77 countries corporal and other forms of violent punishment are accepted as legal disciplinary measures in penal institutions.

Violence by institutional staff for the purposes of "disciplining" children includes beatings with hands, sticks and hoes.

Hitting children against the wall, restraining them in cloth sacks, tying them to furniture, locking them in freezing rooms for days at a time and leaving them to lie in their own excrement.

Girls in detention and childcare facilities are at particular risk of physical and sexual abuse mainly when supervised by male staff.

The study cites lack of effective complaints, monitoring and inspection mechanisms, poorly trained staff and inadequate Government regulation as having heightened the risk of violence against children.

"Corporal punishment of Children is an evil that has been perpetuated with impunity in most societies. It is disheartening to learn that 20 years after adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), children are still subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment," notes United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) country representative Lotta Sylwander.

Corporal punishment has consistently led to aggressive behaviour, anger, rage and retribution seeking.

According to a 2005 study on corporal punishment of children in Zambia commissioned by Save the Children Sweden, a number of children reported aggressive feelings such as anger, suicide, depression and physical pain as a reaction to their punishment.

About 89 per cent said they preferred to be treated with respect, to have adults listen to them and to be given a better understanding of their mistakes, while 11 per cent preferred corporal punishment.

These were mostly children from low-income environments where conflicts are commonly resolved through violent ways.

In adulthood they are more likely to be perpetrators of gender based violence.

On the other hand, children who are taught non-violent forms of discipline are more likely to have good social skills, self-discipline, critical thinking skills, personal accountability and respect for other people.

But corporal punishment does not promote these healthy ideals," said Judy Mulenga Executive Director, Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA).

Since Parents are primary providers in homes, prosecuting and subsequently committing them to custodial sentences would not be in the best interest of the child.

There will be need to come up with ways of dealing with the issue without endangering other rights of the child and also avoid congesting the courts

"Offenders can be ordered to go for counseling or committed to community service or both. Prosecutions can be done when the assault is particularly violent," Ms Mulenga says.

This does not mean the act is justified. It remains unlawful, but on account of its triviality the courts cannot entertain it.

And Women and Law in Southern Africa (WILSA) says Legal reforms need awareness raising and public education that aims at changing attitudes and promotes non violent ways of disciplining children.

WILSA notes that the persistent of corporal punishment against children is closely linked to the legality of its use on children, a lack of understanding of its negative effects and lack of knowledge and skills to manage discipline through non-violent ways.

"Children have died after being "disciplined" while others have been left disabled. Any form of discipline that endangers the well being of a child should not be tolerated.

"Most parents argue that a little beating is not child abuse. It is discipline. But little slaps shoves and pushes have a tendency to escalate over time and end in tragedy.

"As the child grows older beatings intensify and become more violent," Hope Kasase Khumalo, WILSA acting national co-ordinator says.

By ratifying the CRC, Zambia is obliged not only to prohibit by law corporal punishment and other forms of humiliating or degrading punishment of children in the family, school, care institutions and the juvenile justice system, but also to develop awareness and education campaigns to promote positive, non-violent discipline of children.

As the country joins the rest of the globe in commemorating 16 days of Activism On Gender Based Violence and subsequently the World Humans Right Day that falls on December 10 every year, it is important to note that preventing all forms of violence against children is key to securing a violence free society.