By Tim Lambert
1783 Poland becomes the first country to ban corporal punishment in schools
1820 In Britain whipping women is banned
1845 Luxembourg bans corporal punishment in schools
1862 In Britain courts can sentence men to either whipping or birching. (A man was hit on his bare backside with a bundle of birch rods).
1867 New Jersey is the first US state to ban corporal punishment in schools
1881 Flogging is abolished in the British army and navy
1917 Russia bans corporal punishment in schools
1920 The Netherlands bans corporal punishment in schools
1928 Italy bans corporal punishment in schools
1936 Norway bans corporal punishment in schools
1948 In Britain whipping and birching are banned for civilian men (but not for men in prisons). Romania bans corporal punishment in schools.
1952 In the USA whipping is last used as a punishment, in Delaware when a man is sentenced to 20 lashes.
1958 Sweden ends corporal punishment in schools
1962 Birching is last used in a British prison
1967 Denmark ends corporal punishment in schools. In Britain, the Plowden Report recommends ending corporal punishment in primary schools (but not secondary schools). Whipping and birching are made illegal in British prisons.
1972 Massachusetts bans corporal punishment in public schools. Delaware is the last US state to abolish whipping as a punishment for criminals. In Britain, on 17 May 10,000 schoolchildren go on strike against corporal punishment.
1973 British Columbia is the first Canadian province to ban corporal punishment in schools. The state of Hawaii bans corporal punishment in public schools.
1975 Austria ends corporal punishment in schools. The state of Maine bans corporal punishment in public schools.
1977 The state of Rhode Island bans corporal punishment in public schools. So does the District of Columbia.
1979 Sweden bans all corporal punishment, including by parents
1982 Ireland ends corporal punishment in schools. In a case brought by two Scottish mothers, the European Court of Human Rights rules that beating children against their parent’s wishes is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
1983 The state of New Hampshire bans corporal punishment in public schools. Finland bans all corporal punishment, including by parents.
1985 Vermont and New York ban corporal punishment in public schools. Spain bans corporal punishment in schools.
1986 China bans corporal punishment in schools. The state of California bans corporal punishment in public schools.
1987 In Britain corporal punishment is banned in state schools (but not private ones). The Philippines bans corporal punishment in both state and private schools. Norway bans all corporal punishment, including by parents.
1988 The states of Nebraska and Wisconsin ban corporal punishment in public schools
1989 The states of Alaska, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, and Virginia ban corporal punishment in public schools. The state of Iowa bans corporal punishment in both public and private schools. Austria bans all corporal punishment, including in the home.
1990 New Zealand bans corporal punishment in schools. Western Australia is the first Australian state to ban corporal punishment in government schools (but it was not banned in non-government schools until 1995). The state of South Dakota bans corporal punishment in public schools.
1991 The state of Montana bans corporal punishment in public schools
1992 The state of Utah bans corporal punishment in public schools
1993 The states of Illinois, Utah, Washington, and Maryland ban corporal punishment in public schools
1994 The state of West Virginia bans corporal punishment in public schools. Cyprus bans all corporal punishment, including in the home.
1997 Denmark bans all corporal punishment including in the home
1998 The United Arab Emirates bans corporal punishment in schools. Latvia and Austria ban all corporal punishment.
1999 In England corporal punishment in private schools becomes illegal. Croatia bans all corporal punishment, including by parents.
2000 In Scotland corporal punishment in private schools becomes illegal. Germany and Bulgaria ban all corporal punishment, including in the home.
2002 Turkmenistan and Israel ban all corporal punishment
2003 The state of Delaware bans corporal punishment in public schools. In Northern Ireland corporal punishment in private schools becomes illegal. Iceland bans all corporal punishment, including by parents.
2004 The Canadian Supreme Court bans corporal punishment in schools. Ukraine and Romania ban all corporal punishment, including in the home.
2005 The state of Pennsylvania bans corporal punishment in public schools. Vietnam bans corporal punishment in schools. Hungary bans all corporal punishment, including in the home.
2006 Greece bans all corporal punishment
2007 New Zealand, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Togo, the Faroes Islands, and Uruguay ban all corporal punishment
2008 Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, and the Republic of Moldova ban all corporal punishment
2009 The state of Ohio bans corporal punishment in public schools
2010 Kenya, Tunisia, The Republic of Congo, Albania, and Poland ban all corporal punishment.
2011 The state of New Mexico bans corporal punishment in public schools. Pakistan bans corporal punishment in schools. South Sudan bans all corporal punishment.
2013 Honduras and North Macedonia ban all corporal punishment
2014 Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Malta, San Marino, Andorra, and Estonia ban all corporal punishment
2015 Ireland, Peru, and Benin ban all corporal punishment
2016 Greenland, Slovenia, Montenegro, Paraguay, and Mongolia ban all corporal punishment
2017 Lithuania bans all corporal punishment
2018 Nepal bans all corporal punishment
2019 Jersey, South Africa, Georgia, Kosovo, France, and French Guiana ban all corporal punishment
2020 Scotland, Guinea, Seychelles, and Japan ban all corporal punishment
2021 South Korea, Colombia, and Venezuela ban all corporal punishment
2022 All corporal punishment becomes illegal in Wales, Zambia and Mauritius. Cuba bans corporal punishment in the home.
2023 The states of Idaho and Colorado ban corporal punishment in public schools. The state of New York bans it in private schools. The nation of Sierra Leone bans corporal punishment in schools.
2024 Laos and Tajikstan ban all corporal punishment. The state of Illinois bans corporal punishment in all schools.