The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander says that he does not view corporal punishment as abuse.

His comments follow a study in the International Journal of Bahamian studies that revealed that people in The Bahamas influenced by biblical teachings were found to be most likely to support the use of corporal punishment on their children.

The study by William Fielding and Virginia Balance of the University of The Bahamas used the responses of 1,570 participants.

Of that number, 1,295 respondents or 58.8 percent thought that it would be in the best interests of their child to be disciplined using corporal punishment, and 9.6 percent indicated that they would use an object to inflict the punishment.

When Christians and non-Christians’ views were looked at, Christians - 52.2 percent - agreed that it was acceptable for children to be physically punished by their parents, while 48.2 percent of non-Christians had the same views. Fifty-five percent of Christians disagreed that it should be illegal for parents to use corporal punishment.

When asked by this newspaper his thoughts on corporal punishment, Bishop Fernander said he believes that it should be a deterrent, but also a last resort.

He said: “I do not consider corporal punishment abuse as I have had the privilege of being a teacher, senior master and administrator. I do believe, as I have been on both sides with the removal of corporal punishment and the adding of corporal punishment.”

He added: “I think that there should be a deterrent and there should be stages of deterrent. We are never trying to take it to a place of abuse, but there must be a penalty that is given for infractions.”

Given that 90 percent of the population in The Bahamas identifies as Christian, any attempts by the state to regulate the practice of corporal punishment will need to be promoted by pastors to make messages on non-violent discipline of children acceptable to their parishioners, researchers found.

It was found that in The Bahamas there is considerable disagreement as to whether anyone has the right to tell a parent how to raise their children, which the report noted that this suggests that participants feel that society should not intrude upon what happens in the home.

Bishop Fernander believes that parents should find a parenting method to which they deem most trusted, however he insisted that corporal punishment should be the last resort when disciplining children.

“I think everybody must find their own parenting method, obviously the use of corporal punishment is something that I would say is the last resort. It should not be done in anger or any kind of malice, it should be administered as a deterrent, and not something simply to bring pain,” he recently told The Tribune.

He believes the study was flawed as he said the statistics seemed to be equal despite one’s religious beliefs as both parties recognise the “benefit of using a balanced corporal punishment”.