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

Susan A Kelly; Nambusi Kyegombe; Soori Nnko; Jeremiah Kahema; Marco Charles; Virginia Bond

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105663

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

Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Jul:129:105663. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105663. Epub 2022 May 28.

Authors

Susan A Kelly¹, Nambusi Kyegombe², Soori Nnko³, Jeremiah Kahema⁴, Marco Charles⁴, Virginia Bond⁵

Affiliations

¹ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: susan.kelly@lshtm.ac.uk.
² London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
³ National Institute of Medical Research, Social Sciences Group, Isamilo Street, Ilemela, Mwanza, Tanzania.
⁴ Independent Researcher, Mwanza Region, Tanzania.
⁵ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom; Social Science Department, Zambart Project, University of Zambia, School of Medicine Ridgeway Campus, P.O. Box 50697, Lusaka, Zambia.

PMID: 35640348
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105663

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Child protection; Children's rights; Physical punishment; Social transformation; Tanzania; Violence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Child
Female
Humans
Language*
Male
Punishment*
Schools
Tanzania
Violence / prevention & control