Currently, the United States is one of few western democracies in which the use of CP in the schools is still legal. Internationally, most industrialized, European democracies eliminated the use of corporal punishment by the end of the 20th century. In 1967, New Jersey became the first state to legislatively ban corporal punishment in schools, followed in 1972 by Massachusetts.
Opponents contend that any form of physical punishment is a form of violence, is an ineffective method of discipline, and has major deleterious effects on the physical and mental health of its victims. Opponents also find that there is no empirical evidence ...