Language, meaning and measure: Community perspectives and experiences of physical punishments and the transforming child protection and child rights landscapes in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND

Over the last decade Tanzania has become recognized as a regional leader in addressing issues of violence affecting children. Despite global partnerships and national initiatives, physical punishments remain legally sanctioned and broadly socially supported as part of responsible childrearing.

OBJECTIVE

This research aimed to gain insights into community perspectives and experiences of physical punishments in children's upbringings and how community derived meaning and measurement of particular acts relate with global rights-based conceptualizations of physical violence against children.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

Fourteen months of ethnographic research was conducted primarily in and around a peri-urban community in northwest Tanzania. Interviews with national- and global-level children's rights and safety representatives were conducted in Dar-es-Salaam. Twenty-four, school-going girls and boys (ages 8-12) and 53 adults directly participated in study activities.

METHODS

Data collection methods included participant observation, participatory workshops (9), semi-structured interviews (36) and document reviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data.

RESULTS

Data revealed ongoing debate regarding the use of physical punishments in children's upbringings and their association with violence. Resistance to the global children's rights promoted discourse of complete elimination of physical punishment of children manifested as avoidance, negotiation and rejection. Corporal punishment proved a particularly problematic term.

CONCLUSIONS

Child protection and children's rights are dynamic systems, vernacularized based on unique regional histories and ongoing social change. Prioritization of contextualized and dynamic constructions of children's wellbeing and safety can support the development of sustainable protection systems that support the safety and development of children and families in local communities.