«The closure of the schools in spring was catastrophic»

Mrs Bernhard Hug, what are the most important results of your study?

We found out that children in Switzerland are still regularly punished with physical and psychological violence. One in 20 children is regularly punished physically, and one in four children is deliberately verbally abused. Nevertheless, these figures are slightly down on previous studies.

Studies show that vulnerable children suffered even more during the lockdown last spring. How do restrictions on public and private life affect punishment behaviour?

The closure of the schools was catastrophic. On the one hand, the institution of school and other childcare facilities ceased to be important supervisory bodies. On the other hand, distance learning and the oppressive situation put even more pressure on vulnerable families. The study also showed that, in contrast to physical violence, punishments involving psychological violence in particular are often favoured by a family's external circumstances. In other words, circumstances such as financial worries, general excessive demands and mental stress - all of which have of course been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Interestingly, your study shows that parents who punish children with verbal and physical violence rated the support services better than others. Why is that?

It is indeed an important sign that more than half of parents who deliberately inflict pain on their children want to change this behaviour and are open to offers. And yet there is a small group of resistant parents who feel that violence in parenting is the right thing to do. We are fighting for non-violent parenting to be included in the Civil Code so that no child has to grow up under degrading parenting methods.