Perceptions of Corporal Punishment among Creole and Maroon Professionals and Community Members in Suriname

Abstract

Child discipline is a vital part of child‐rearing in all cultures. The need for child discipline is generally recognised, but considerable debate exists regarding the best methods. Corporal punishment (CP) is a dominant practice in Caribbean cultures. This qualitative study investigated community perceptions of the function, legality and boundaries of CP in child‐rearing practices in Suriname, in which CP is defined as hitting a child on their buttocks or extremities using an open hand. Twelve focus group discussions were conducted with adolescent and adult community members from Creole and Maroon backgrounds, as well as with professionals working with children. ATLAS.ti (version 7.5.4), a qualitative data package, was used to conduct the analyses. This study showed how violent forms of disciplining children are widely accepted and practised in Suriname. CP is considered a necessary and respected form of disciplining children, particularly by parents. Participants know about the existence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that has been ratified in Suriname, but there is a lack of knowledge about its content. Developing appropriate policy responses to violence towards children requires understanding of the perception and use of CP. Such knowledge is needed to tackle the invisibility and social acceptance of violence in child discipline. Key Practitioner Messages Under certain circumstances, Corporal Punishment (CP) is accepted and applied in Suriname, despite growing knowledge of its harmful consequences. While participants considered the lawfulness of behaviour, they were primarily interested in the intentions of the caretakers when using CP If these were interpreted ‘in the best interest of the child’, CP was not considered maltreatment. Understanding of what motivates caregivers to use CP helps in developing appropriate policy responses in order to prevent and respond to violence towards children.

Paternal and Maternal Cognitive Engagement and Preschoolers’ Literacy Skills Across Six Ethnic Groups in Suriname

“…Despite their cultural and linguistic diversity, when it comes to parenting, Surinamese parents have some notable commonalities with those of mothers and fathers in other CARICOM countries. A predominant aspect of parenting across Caribbean countries (e.g., Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago) is the use of a combination of warmth and harshness during childrearing (Griffith & Grolnick, 2014; Roopnarine et al, 2014), and harsh parenting practices in the form of physical punishment and denigration have been documented among Maroons, Creoles, and Hindustanis in Suriname (Marshall & van der Wolf, 2013; van der Kooij et al, 2015, 2017, 2018). The use of harsh parenting not only undermines meaningful cognitive and social engagement with young children in the Caribbean region (Roopnarine et al, 2014), but as in other cultural communities around the world, it has detrimental effects on their social and cognitive development (see Roopnarine & Dede Yildirim, 2019b, for review).…”

Implementation and evaluation of a parenting program to prevent child maltreatment in Suriname.

“…The basic psychological principles (e.g., parent–child relationship building through play and positive attention, child behavior change through social learning) of a parenting course such as LMP are universal across cultures (O’Connor, Matias, Futh, Tantam, & Scott, 2013). Furthermore, the principles of LMP do not fit only the principles of the CRC (treating children respectfully, setting parenting goals, supporting parents in raising questions, and learning to renounce violence); they also fit local customs and wishes in Suriname, such as requirements for nonviolent strategies and understanding and respect for longstanding habits (van der Kooij et al, 2017). Our program adhered to the imported manual and training methods, with some adaptations for Suriname.…”

“…Thus far, no other evidence-based programs have been implemented, adapted, and evaluated. A recent study on CP among Creoles and Maroons conducted in Suriname showed that both adults and adolescents believed that using some form of CP is at times a necessary and a respected form of child discipline (van der Kooij et al, 2017). Those who received CP agreed on the necessity or acceptability of CP when this was “in the best interest of the child” and did not consider CP as a form of violence or maltreatment in that case.…”

“…Those who received CP agreed on the necessity or acceptability of CP when this was “in the best interest of the child” and did not consider CP as a form of violence or maltreatment in that case. Parents expressed the wish to be able to discipline their children in nonviolent ways but also reported that they lacked the skills to do so (van der Kooij et al, 2017). In recent years, governmental and nongovernmental organizations have implemented many different activities to meet the expressed needs of parents for support in the upbringing of their children.…”

Comparing International Approaches to Safeguarding Children: Global Lesson Learning

“…It leaves us, firstly, with the view that cultural knowledge is of the utmost importance to make decisions about the transferability of models (Walker-Simpson, 2017). Secondly, it seems as if governments should be aware of cultural context in child protection to ensure culturally appropriate reforms, policy and legislation (Lin, 2017;van der Kooij et al, 2017), as even corporal punishment seems to be more related to culture and context than other socio-economic factors (Ellonen et al, 2017). Lastly, pilot studies where a participatory action research approach is adopted could be useful (Walker-Simpson, 2017) to promote culturally acceptable child protection outcomes.…”