Most physical violence against children in their homes is rooted in physical punishment. Parents' approval of physical punishment is a primary predictor of its use. Therefore, reducing approval of physical punishment is critical to preventing physical violence against children. We explored the relative contributions of four variables to young adults' approval of physical punishment with the aim of identifying effective routes to prevention. The participants were 480 first-year university students in 3 Canadian provinces. The outcome measure was a scale assessing participants' approval of physical punishment. The predictor variables were four dimensions of participants' perceptions of their childhood physical punishment experiences: physical (frequency, severity), cognitive (perceived abusiveness, perceived deservedness), affective (short-and long-term emotional impact), and contextual (degree to which it was accompanied by reasoning, power assertion, emotional abuse, or emotional support). Most (73%) of the participants had experienced physical punishment in childhood. Of these, 78% had experienced punishments other than mild spanking with the hand; one fifth had been pushed against a wall, and one third had been hit with objects. The strongest predictor of participants' approval of physical punishment was a belief that their experiences were deserved. Reducing approval of physical punishment requires strategies to alter the perception that children deserve violence.

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This qualitative study adds to research on the experiences of professionals who support newcomer women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Findings from seven focus groups with 32 service providers from newcomer-serving and domestic violence agencies in Saskatchewan, Canada, include newcomer survivors’ experiences of isolation, the impact of IPV on newcomer children, and challenges and opportunities for supporting newcomer women who have experienced IPV. Service providers described gaps in existing services and the need for additional services; they also described ways of working effectively with newcomer women survivors of IPV and their children. Professionals indicated the importance of a trauma-and-violence-informed, survivor-centered approach and highlighted the need for compassion, empathy, and patience when working with newcomer women who have experienced IPV. This article includes recommendations for service providers, including IPV shelters and services and newcomer-serving agencies, to improve service to newcomer survivors.

On 30 January 2004 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, in a 6-3 decision, that section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada does not violate the rights of children. Section 43 provides a legal defence for parents, teachers and others acting in the place of a parent who use force (corporal punishment) to correct a child's behaviour (Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), 2004). However, the Supreme Court set limits on when and under what conditions section 43 can be used as a defence (Table 1).Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada states that:Every school teacher, parent or person standing in the place of the parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward the pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances. * i s wEvery individual is equal before and under the law and has the right of equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

This study adds to a small body of Canadian literature investigating the ways that newcomer women experience, and are impacted by, intimate partner violence (IPV). The study involved qualitative interviews with 15 newcomer women who migrated to Saskatchewan, Canada, from 12 different countries. These findings provide insight into participants’ complex lived experiences and illustrate how women’s status as newcomers intersected with their experiences of IPV. As well as abuse related to language ability and immigration status, participants in our study described their experiences of physical; sexual; emotional; psychological; economic; and legal abuse; as well as coercive control; isolation; surveillance, stalking, and harassment while in the relationship and after separation; challenges with shared parenting; and the imposition of patriarchal values. Perpetrators of IPV maintained control by intentionally isolating survivors, and participants were also isolated due to their status as a newcomer and their limited English-language ability and social connections.