Singapore legalises caning for school bullies in the name of justice
Singapore has legalised corporal punishment by caning for students who bully classmates. An analysis of the debate: gender bias, effectiveness and comparison with Spain.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Singapore legalises caning to fight bullying — firm hand or authoritarianism?
Corporal punishment is returning to Singapore's classrooms, but with a twist: only male students will receive the cane. The measure, approved to tackle school bullying, has peine the debate on the effectiveness of the pedagogy of pain, while the Asian country boasts its number one spot in education according to PISA 2015.
The details of the punishment
The procedure is meticulous: strokes are applied to the buttocks or genital area, always in multiples of three, with intervals of eight to ten months between sessions to allow healing. A typical sentence of six strokes is split into two sessions. However, Singapore's penal code expressly prohibits corporal punishment of women, which leaves female bullies out. Supporters of the measure argue that physical school bullying is overwhelmingly male, but critics point to institutionalised gender discrimination.
Does antiestéticar work?
Supporters of corporal punishment cite Singapore's educational success: first place in PISA 2015, significant educational investment and a rigorous selection of teachers. For them, preventive caning at school age is a godsend against little psychopaths. The other camp warns of the risk of abuse: the definition of bullying is subjective, and such a tool in the hands of officials could lead to arbitrary punishments. The famous Overton window slide, which would start with bullies and end up being applied to any disobedient student.
Equality's unfinished business
The gender bias is the most controversial point. While the West debates equality, Singapore maintains a nineteenth-century rule that protects women from the cane but excludes them from the same discipline. Some analysts see it as an unfair privilege; others as an acknowledgement that girls rarely resort to physical violence. The reality is that the law creates two classes of bullies: those who get caned and those who don't.
The question left hanging: is this model exportable to Western societies, or is it just another example of Singapore's authoritarian exceptionalism? Per capita income and academic results do not always justify the methods.
Related discussions in the forum
Corporal punishment is returning to Singapore's classrooms, but with a twist: only male students will receive the cane. The measure, approved to tackle school bullying, has peine the debate on the effectiveness of the pedagogy of pain, while the Asian country boasts its number one spot in education according to PISA 2015.
The details of the punishment
The procedure is meticulous: strokes are applied to the buttocks or genital area, always in multiples of three, with intervals of eight to ten months between sessions to allow healing. A typical sentence of six strokes is split into two sessions. However, Singapore's penal code expressly prohibits corporal punishment of women, which leaves female bullies out. Supporters of the measure argue that physical school bullying is overwhelmingly male, but critics point to institutionalised gender discrimination.
Does antiestéticar work?
Supporters of corporal punishment cite Singapore's educational success: first place in PISA 2015, significant educational investment and a rigorous selection of teachers. For them, preventive caning at school age is a godsend against little psychopaths. The other camp warns of the risk of abuse: the definition of bullying is subjective, and such a tool in the hands of officials could lead to arbitrary punishments. The famous Overton window slide, which would start with bullies and end up being applied to any disobedient student.
Equality's unfinished business
The gender bias is the most controversial point. While the West debates equality, Singapore maintains a nineteenth-century rule that protects women from the cane but excludes them from the same discipline. Some analysts see it as an unfair privilege; others as an acknowledgement that girls rarely resort to physical violence. The reality is that the law creates two classes of bullies: those who get caned and those who don't.
The question left hanging: is this model exportable to Western societies, or is it just another example of Singapore's authoritarian exceptionalism? Per capita income and academic results do not always justify the methods.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (34 replies).
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