our response to the Scottish Parliament passing the equal protection bill
SallyAnn Kelly, CEO of Aberlour, said:
“Aberlour is delighted that today the Scottish Parliament has outlawed the physical punishment of children by passing the Equal Protection Bill into law, ensuring children in Scotland will now have the same protection from assault as adults. This is an historic day for our children and one further step towards fully realising children’s rights in Scotland. We want to thank and acknowledge all those who supported this Bill, and in particular recognise the efforts of John Finnie MSP who introduced this Bill and the hard work of those organisations who have campaigned tirelessly for years for this change in law – Barnardo’s Scotland, Children 1st, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and NSPCC Scotland. Now that we have recognised and protected in law the rights of children not to be physically punished, we can begin to focus, as a country, on how we can best help families and support all parents who feel they struggle to find alternatives to physical punishment to feel secure and confident in their parenting and ensure that every child has the chance to flourish.”