Towards ending corporal punishment in African countries: Experiences from Tanzania

This paper aimed at examining the efforts towards ending corporal punishment in African contexts. The interest for the study was drawn from the prevalence of corporal punishment (CP) in regions despite the existing concerted efforts to end it regionally and internationally. The study used experiences from Tanzanian respondents involving five representatives from NGOs dealing with children’s violence; 60 secondary school students; 40 teachers; five (5) religious’ leaders; and 20 parents sampled from the members of the school committees. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and the review of documents. Findings of the study attribute the prevalence of CP to hegemony of cultural and traditional practices, porosity of laws and guidelines for managing CP and the African historical context. Moreover, the prevalence of CP is ascribed to attitudes of the community towards CP, social conditions such as social economic status, family size and knowledge about CP. It was further noted that stakeholders had differing views on the use of CP for managing behaviours. It is argued in this paper that such attribution can be addressed through reimagining the entire line of thinking towards CP. The study recommends concerted efforts in managing CP both in schools and in the families.