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By Tapiwa Gomo, Regional Communications Officer, Save the Children Sweden The recent xenophobia attacks have created a lot of debate on its causes. Some take it as an opportunity to attack government over its assumed failure to fulfil its promises since 1994, while for some it is time to find solutions to this problem. Both assumptions are premised on the need to understand the underlying causes of this kind of violence, which has left dozens of people dead displacing hundreds of thousand people, and to ask ourselves why the recent events have taken such violent expression. Why do so many South Africans revert to violence with such ease to solve conflict or to express their views? There are of course many explanations for this and having gone through a long period of oppression may have shaped the way people respond to social problems. I will centre my argument on corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment of children and how this practice of child rearing contributes to perpetuating the cycles of violence in South Africa. Please note that the argument is not that xenophobia is a direct result of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment on children but that it plays a role in some way to propagate a culture of violence. Corporal punishment was used during the apartheid era, in the communities, prisons and many other institutions. Today it is still being used on children at home, schools, streets and many other places. A national survey undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council indicated that 57% of parents use corporal punishment on their children. Three year old children are most commonly smacked while four-year olds were most often beaten with a belt or another object. Perhaps those who apply it borrow from their past experiences. Corporal punishment is any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. A global UN Study on Violence against Children, which concluded that corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment is of major concern to millions of children around the world, sets a target date of 2009 for governments to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children, including in the home. Despite this, it is still legal for parents in South Africa to use corporal punishment on their children. Punishing a child by inflicting pain conveys the message that violence is an appropriate way to settle differences or to respond to problems. It teaches the child that if one dislikes what somebody does, it is acceptable to inflict pain on that person. It also teaches the child that it is acceptable for stronger ad more powerful persons to be violent towards the weak and to solve conflict through violence. It is these arguments that lie behind the saying by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu that “violence begets violence and we shall reap a whirlwind”. Over and above it is important to establish human rights standards which protect adults and children alike from all forms of violence, including corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment, and where old and young people in South Africa find ways of relating to each other without violent means. The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a vision and accompanying set of standards for the rights and protection of children that have achieved international and cross-cultural acceptance and commitment. It clearly states that all forms of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment is violating children’s right to equal protection from violence and abuse. There is a need to propagate a culture of tolerance combined with principles of human rights. It is time for all of us living in South Africa to stop perpetuating the cycle of violence by teaching the younger generation that violence should be used when solving conflict. As a first step to achieve this it is necessary for the South African government to prohibit by law corporal and other forms of humiliating of children in the home. Legislation will send an important message that these forms of violence and abuse against children are no longer tolerated. To eliminate the use of corporal punishment legal reform needs to go hand in hand with awareness raising and public education to change attitudes and promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline. We must remember that today’s adult generation was yesteryear’s children and what we see today is a result of the after-effects of those yesteryears’ socialisation processes. Therefore we invest peace in our children today and we will also harvest peace tomorrow. Constructive, non-violent, child discipline is needed. It should be formulated and applied in a manner that respects the human dignity and rights of the child and understanding of child development. Positive, non-violent ways of discipline and child rearing have been promoted and applied in all regions and cultures. Together we can do it. A journey of a million miles starts with a single step.