The slap in the face in education is still too normal in Switzerland

Mr Baier, you have been researching the topic of domestic violence in Germany for years and have now conducted a large-scale study in Switzerland. What surprised you?

Firstly, violence is still considered a normal part of parenting here. Only one in three young people stated that they had not experienced any form of violence in the family as a child. In a comparable study in Germany, two out of three young people said the same. The second surprising finding: the differences between young people with and without a migration background are enormous: there are groups that have a four to five times higher rate of violence within the family.

How do you explain the big difference to our neighbouring country?

First of all, we also analysed positive forms of parenting, for example the amount of affection, i.e. parental willingness to comfort. Here, Switzerland is just as well positioned as Germany. However, it has been shown that the Swiss parenting culture more frequently resorts to mild forms of violence such as slapping. However, it has to be said that there are also many families in Germany that beat their children. And that there are many families in Switzerland that do not resort to violence. We do not yet have a definitive answer. The fact that in Germany - unlike Switzerland - parental corporal punishment has been banned since 2000 may play a role.

The saying «A slap in the face never hurt anyone» still applies in Switzerland?

Yes, of course not everyone agrees - but a large proportion of the population still does.

Why is the sentence wrong?

A slap in the face does not leave a child unscathed. It destroys a relationship of trust: trust in the parents, but also in the world as a safe place.

A slap in the face alone?

Of course, it makes a difference whether a child is beaten regularly or rarely and whether it is corporal punishment or severe violence. If the child has experienced severe violence, for example, it is more likely that they will later become violent themselves. But we also see clear differences between the comparison groups «no violence experienced» and «corporal punishment experienced» - the famous slap in the face. Research clearly shows that every form of physical violence causes harm.

Is slapping the most common form of violence in education in Switzerland?

Yes, most young people stated that they had been slapped. Relatively many stated that they had been «grabbed hard» or «pushed». Severe violence such as being beaten up or hit with objects is the least common.

You also mentioned differences in terms of origin. This is a politically controversial category - why did you include it in the study?

Cultural diversity is something that defines modern society. And I believe that knowledge in this area can help to tackle problems.

What insights have you gained?

Severe violence as part of parenting is much more common among young people from South-East Asia, South-East Europe and Africa. I explain this essentially with different perceptions of what parenting should look like. These are cultures in which patriarchal family structures are still more common.

What does that mean?

The man is the head of the family, who also uses violence to get his way. Not because he enjoys spanking, but because he lacks alternative sanctions to show the child that something was wrong. These ideas have existed for centuries. And they are wrong: you can't beat insight into a child.

Based on your study, one could get the impression that domestic violence in Switzerland today is a problem for foreigners.

That would be wrong in two respects. Firstly, we have found that severe violence is still used in parenting in one in ten native families without a migration background. Secondly, as mentioned above, corporal punishment is also part of the parenting culture in the majority of native families. Overall, the rates of violence within the family are lower among the population without a migrant background - but still far too high.

The more religious a family is, the higher the likelihood of violence in parenting - regardless of religion.

According to your study, migrant families in Switzerland use violence much more frequently than migrant families in Germany. Why?

In Germany, there have always been initiatives to spread the realisation that spanking is harmful and does not belong in education. There have also been deliberate attempts to bring this knowledge to the migrant communities: There were flyers in Turkish, articles in the German edition of the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. Switzerland has some catching up to do here. I remember a man with a Turkish background speaking after a lecture I gave on the subject. He said that it took him a long time after immigrating to Switzerland to hear for the first time that hitting is frowned upon here.

How can the findings be used to tackle the problem?

It may sound banal, but a first approach is to sensitise people who are in daily contact with children and young people, i.e. teachers and educators. I wouldn't focus so much on individual countries of origin, but rather on larger regions: Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa. Children and young people from families with these origins are exposed to a higher risk of violence. And this can lead to them behaving conspicuously at school or performing worse at school.

Do you see any other approaches?

A second point is that people are increasingly asking about the background: Are the parents exposed to high levels of stress? Have they had traumatic experiences in their childhood, on the run? Would it be helpful to offer the parents psychological support?

They found another interesting correlation in the study: The more religious a family, the more frequent serious violence is. How do you explain that?

This correlation is independent of religious affiliation and migration background. For me, this has to do with conservatism: The stronger the religiosity, the more likely there is a conservative world view when it comes to the relationship between parents and children. That's the crazy thing about it: the bad, i.e. violence, is used to bring about the good. Parents want to put their children on a good path. You generally find this connection in conservative milieus. But it simply doesn't work.

The fact that parents want to use violence to do good is a contradiction that children cannot resolve.

What works instead?

Talk, talk, talk. Parenting is not something that happens overnight, it's a process. I see this with my own daughter: at some point you suddenly realise, beaming with joy, that something has worked. You don't gain respect by beating someone up, you destroy their trust in your own authority. Trying to do good by doing bad is a contradiction that children can't resolve.

What are the concrete consequences of the use of violence in education?

Neurological research has shown that Violence damages the areas of the brain where self-control and empathy are located. Added to this is the fear that affected children experience: Violence creates a very strong experience of stress, which prevents people from recognising alternative behaviour in conflict situations. And parental violence is an experience of powerlessness that destroys the child's self-esteem.

Does the formula apply? Whoever was beaten by his parents also beats his children?

Fortunately, this is not one hundred per cent true. We can see that the proportion of violence in upbringing is decreasing from generation to generation. Nevertheless, there is something to the statement: people who have experienced violence in their upbringing are demonstrably more likely to resort to it themselves.

Are boys beaten more often than girls?

In our analysis, we found practically no gender differences in terms of the experience of violence. However, we know from other studies that mothers are more likely to hit their daughters and fathers their sons.

You mentioned it at the beginning: In Switzerland - in contrast to Germany - there is still no ban on corporal punishment. Why is that?

In Switzerland, people are still very reluctant to allow politics to interfere in the family. But I think there are changes here too: The establishment of the Child and Adult Protection Authority (KESB), for example. I generally notice an increased willingness to intervene when a child is suffering from the situation in the family.

How important is such a ban? The use of violence against children is already prohibited today.

Very important: Studies in countries with a ban on corporal punishment show that the law has a strong signalling effect. Switzerland will no longer be able to avoid this. I think it will take a few more years before some of the older National Councillors are replaced by younger, more open-minded ones who will contribute their knowledge: Violence in education is outdated.

Two out of three young people experience corporal punishment at home

Prof Dirk Baier and his team from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW investigated the consequences of parental violence in education in Switzerland and surveyed around 8,300 students from vocational secondary schools, grammar schools and other upper secondary schools in various cantons in all parts of Switzerland.

The most important results of the study on violence in families in Switzerland:

• 62,1 Prozent der Jugendlichen haben Züchtigung erlebt (Ohrfeige oder hartes Anpacken bzw. Stossen). Ohrfeigen haben 53.7 Prozent der Jugendlichen erhalten. 8.7 Prozent sagen, sie haben häufig Züchtigungen erlebt.
• 22 Prozent der Befragten haben in ihrer Erziehung schwere Gewalt erlebt, 5 Prozent von ihnen häufig. Am häufigsten gaben die Jugendlichen an, mit einem Gegenstand geschlagen worden zu sein.
• 32.1 Prozent der Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund gaben an, schwere elterliche Gewalt erlebt zu haben, bei den Jugendlichen ohne Migrationshintergrund waren es 10.9 Prozent.
• Bei Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund Sri Lanka gaben 50.3 Prozent an, schwere Gewalt erlebt zu haben. Bei Brasilien waren es 45.5 Prozent, Kosovo 40.7 Prozent, Portugal 36.7 Prozent, Türkei 26.2 Prozent und Frankreich 20.4 Prozent.

The study can be viewed here. It contains further correlations, such as the fact that more violence is used in the city than in the countryside, as well as comparative figures for the situation in Germany.
Picture: Fotolia

More about violence in the family:

• Education without beatings; this is also what the non-violent education association is campaigning for. With a petition for a change in the law.
• It's not just the slap in the face that causes damage. Verbal abuse: when words hurt a child's soul.
• What can parents do if their children are aggressive?