National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy Against Corporal Punishment and Cruel, Humiliating or
Degrading Treatment of Children and Adolescents
2022‐2030
© National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy
Against Corporal Punishment and Cruel,
Humiliating or Degrading Treatment of Children
and Adolescents
First Edition:
November 2021
Authors:
Graphic Design:
Camilo Andrés Marín Bohórquez
Mobile: (+57) 318 634 5837
Bogota, Colombia
Copy Editing:
Ángela Constanza Jerez Trujillo
Jerez&Sandoval
Media & Social Responsibility
Bogota, Colombia
Printed in:
ISBN 978‐958‐53100‐1‐8
© National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy
Against Corporal Punishment and Cruel,
Humiliating or Degrading Treatment of Children
and Adolescents All rights reserved. None of the
parts of this publication, including the cover
design, may be reproduced, stored or shared in
any way and by any means, without prior
authorization from the author or editor.
Hecho en Colombia
Made in Colombia
Bogota, 2021
Strategy co‐creators
Daniel Palacios Martínez
Minister of Internal Affairs
Wilson Ruíz Orejuela
Minister of Justice & Law
Fernando Ruíz Gómez
Minister of Health & Social Protection
María Victoria Angulo González
Minister of National Education
Carmen Ligia Valderrama Rojas
Minister of Information Technologies &
Communications
Carolina Salgado Lozano
Advisor to the President on Childhood and
Adolescence
Susana Correa Borrero
Director General, Department for Social
Prosperity
Lina María Arbeláez Arbeláez
Director General, Colombian Family Welfare
Institute (ICBF)
President's Advisory Council on Childhood and
Adolescence
Carolina Salgado
Advisor to the President on Childhood and
Adolescence
Dalys Silgado Cabrales
Advisor
Ana Jaramillo
Diana Urueña
Esperanza Lara Romero
Johanna Navarro
Marcia Castro Ramírez
Natalia Quiñonez
Paula Andrea Rodríguez Camacho
Susan Gil
Technical team, President's Advisory Council on
Childhood and Adolescence
Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF)
Lina María Arbeláez Arbeláez
Director General
Liliana Pulido Villamil
Deputy Director‐General
Diego Felipe Otero Álvarez
Earl Douglas López Corcho
Gustavo Romero
Julián David Gerena
María Consuelo Gaitán
Sandra Milena Beltrán Muñoz
Technical team, Colombian Family Welfare
Institute (ICBF)
Corporación Juego y Niñez
Ruth Camelo
CEO
Ana Villa
Andrea González
Ángela Bibiana Nieto
Astrid Henao
Diana Riveros
Graciela Salazar
Irma Salazar
Jorge Alberto Flórez Culman
Kritzy Linares Caicedo
Michael Quiroga
María Alejandra Betancur
Meliza Saldaña
Paola Lugo
Sonia Yaneth Zamudio
Technical team, Corporación Juego y Niñez
Universidad del Norte
Ana Rita Russo de Sánchez
Director, Psycho‐affective Development &
Emotional Education program, Universidad del
Norte.
Areli Sarai Rocha Payares
Eloisa Margarita Sierra Crissón
Liceth Paola Reales Silvera
Luz Caroll González Mancipe
Technical team, Universidad del Norte
We Push
Angie Mogollón
Tania Cifuentes
Children and adolescent Strategy co‐creators:
Santiago Andrés Hurtado Delgado
Envigado, Antioquia department
Valeria Patricia Arteaga Rubio
El Bagre, Antioquia department
Brayan Camilo Alejo Fajardo
Heidy Maryana Albán Sánchez
Arauca, Arauca department
Shelsy Trespalacios Romero
Víctor Manuel García Cervantes
Arjona, Bolívar department
Juan Camilo Miudy Puello
Cartagena, Bolívar department
José David Leones Ortega
San Juan Nepomuceno, Bolívar department
Cielo Katherin Guevara Cabrejo
Boavita, Boyacá department
María Isabella Iguavita Rojas
Sergio Samuel Bolívar Becerra
Paipa, Boyacá department
Keyla Valentina Cubides Acosta
Tunja, Boyacá department
Benjamín David Quintero Alarcón
Zhaira Lucila Bohórquez Rodríguez
Támara, Casanare department
Diana Sofía Tamayo Solarte
Samuel Sekneih Mosquera Sánchez
Almaguer, Cauca department
Rafael Emilio Márquez Conrado
Sofía Sánchez Díaz
San Alberto, Cesar department
Javier Alejandro Cuesta Mosquera
Medio San Juan, Chocó department
Ruby Bejarano Hernández
Triana Berena Valencia Maturana
Quibdó, Chocó department
Maryi Esther Yépez Martínez
San Andrés de Sotavento, Córdoba department
Juan José Garzón Suarez
Luna Valeria Cortes Amaya
Suesca, Cundinamarca department
Alison Camila Gómez Rodríguez
Jimmy Santiago Rodríguez Pinilla
Vianí, Cundinamarca department
Fiorella Morato Trujillo
Yaguará, Huila department
Carlos Manuel Mármol Montero
Shadia Pacheco Martínez
Albania, La Guajira department
Ana Sofía Quevedo Ramírez
María Paula Boada
Yerald Stiven Rafa Duarte
Cabuyaro, Meta department
Gabriela Anahy Toro Arteaga
Jeferson Alejandro Benavides Arteaga
Tuquerres, Nariño department
María Lucía Rubio Barona
Pereira, Risaralda department
Brayan Stiven Dávila
Palmas del Socorro, Santander department
Diocelina Fernández Sampayo
Majagual, Sucre department
Camilo Andrés Camargo Castro
María Camila Tamayo Escudero
San Onofre, Sucre department
María José Orozco Yazo
Simón Eduardo Ramírez Ortiz
Espinal, Tolima department
Juan Manuel Angulo Banguero
Susana Vera Tofiño
Candelaria, Valle del Cauca department
State agencies that participated as Strategy co‐
creators:
Tatiana Briceño Veloza
Department for Social Prosperity
Natalia Martínez
National Institute for the Deaf (INSOR)
Alicia Vargas
Claudia Téllez
Jaime Rafael Vizcaíno Pulido
Olga Lucía Zárate Mantilla
Ministry of National Education
Andrea Katerine Reyes
Diana Marcela Cáceres Herrera
Jenny Gómez
Tatiana Romero
Ministry of Justice & Law
Gloria Del Pilar Cardona
Juana Bernal García
Ministry of Health & Social Protection
Jim Paul Smith Bautista
Ministry of Information Technologies &
Communications
David Orlando Vergara Orjuela
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Colombian departments that participated as
Strategy co‐creators:
Isabel Cristina Echavarría Cardona
María Janneth López Giraldo
Sergio Andrés González Valencia
Governor’s Office of Antioquia
Jeidys Banquez Mendoza
Governor’s Office of Bolívar
Diana Catherine Gutiérrez Fonseca
Governor’s Office of Boyacá
Leidy Tatiana Cortés Zapata
Governor’s Office of Caldas
Luz Dary Ricaurte Ortega
Governor’s Office of Casanare
Ayda María García Jaller
Governor’s Office of Córdoba
Liliana Marcela Rodríguez Sarmiento
Yancly Carrasco Hernández
Governor’s Office of Cundinamarca
Ayda Yeliza Martínez Orejuela
Liceth Tatiana Alape Conde
Governor’s Office of Guainía
Constanza Guarnizo
Governor’s Office of Putumayo
Mónica Patricia Mogollón Sarmiento
Governor’s Office of Risaralda
Marjory Forbes
Governor’s Office of San Andrés
Luis Alberto Castellanos Suárez
Nayibe Hernández Cipagauta
Governor’s Office of Santander
Julia Buelvas Chadid
Governor’s Office of Sucre
Gloria Milena Mayorga Camargo
Governor’s Office of Amazonas
Ilsy Muñoz Movilla
Oscar Pantoja Palacio
Valeria Ariza Gómez
Governor’s Office of Atlántico
Norma Constanza Mendoza Álvarez
Governor’s Office of Caquetá
Adriana Quina Sandoval
Governor’s Office of Cauca
Erika Maestre Vega
Governor’s Office of Cesar
Elsa Patricia Muñoz
Governor’s Office of Huila
Carolina Baquero Cruz
Governor’s Office of Meta
Debbie Peñaranda Mora
Diego Vega
Leydi Tatiana Morales García
Governor’s Office of Norte de Santander
Natalia Álvarez Ruales
Governor’s Office of Quindío
Carolina Sosa
Carol Nieto García
Governor’s Office of Tolima
Luz Elena Azcarate Sinisterra
Governor’s Office of Valle del Cauca
Indira Milena Velásquez Camargo
Governor’s Office of Vaupés
Carolina Tabares López
Governor’s Office of Vichada
Colombian department capitals that
participated as Strategy co‐creators:
Ángela Adriana Mojica Gerena
Mayor’s Office of Arauca
Blanca Luz Tamara Inella
Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla
Yenny Marcela Forero Ospina
María Del Rosario Fandiño C.
Mayor’s Office of Bogota, Capital District
Jenny Carolina Rodríguez
Mayor’s Office of Bucaramanga
María Del Carmen Guerrero
Mayor’s Office of Cali
Norma Bejarano Ordoñez
Mayor’s Office of Florencia
Ingrith González Rosso
Mayor’s Office of Leticia
Katherine Mosquera Lozano
Yennifer Tatiana Vélez García
Yenny Marcela Gutiérrez
Mayor’s Office of Medellín
Adriana Quintero Giral
Mayor’s Office of Mocoa
Diana Yuvely Sánchez Cruz
Mayor’s Office of Neiva
Nelvy Johana Chamorro Lucero
Mayor’s Office of Pasto
María Eugenia Granada Montoya
Mayor’s Office of Pereira
Andrés Mauricio Anzola Gómez
Mayor’s Office of Puerto Carreño
Yirle Vanessa Waldo Sánchez
Yolanda Palacios Machado
Mayor’s Office of Quibdó
Laura Rita Pinto Cotes
Mayor’s Office of Riohacha
Leidy Daniela Cortes
Mayor’s Office of San José del Guaviare
María José Duica Zúñiga
Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta
Daniela Tatiana Castro Castro
Mayor’s Office of Villavicencio
Everaldo Lamprea Montealegre
Colombian Association of Departmental
Capitals (Asocapitales)
Pilar López Quiñones
National Federation of Departments
Experts that participated as Strategy co‐
creators:
María Lucia Uribe
Arigatou International – Geneva, Switzerland
Astrid Triana Cifuentes
Colombian Psychology Schools Association
(ASCOFAPSI)
Marta Rubio Codina
Inter‐american Development Bank
Juan Sebastián Uribe Quintero
House of Representatives
Andrés Villaveces Izquierdo
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)
Pedro Pablo Ochoa
Colombian College of Psychologists
Francy Lilly Rodríguez Hernández
Fundación Universitaria Compensar
Jorge Cuartas
Harvard University
Mauricio González Montero
Paola Andrea Naranjo Hernández
International Institute for Mentality Change
(ICAM)
Diana Marcela Casas Garay
Instituto Roosevelt
Jaime Castro Martínez
Politécnico Grancolombiano
Rocío López Ordosgoitia
Olga Alicia Carbonell Blanco
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Sonia Margarita Leal Cruz
Ruth Mireya Suárez Porras
SENA
Juan Fernando Gómez Ramírez
Marcela Fama Pereira
Colombian Pediatric Society
Andrea Morenz De La Torre
Rocío Mojica
UNICEF
Claudia Jimena Salazar Trujillo
Universidad CES
Sara Zabarain Cogollo
Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia
Jakeline Duarte Duarte
Universidad de Antioquia
Sandy Paola Ibáñez Reyes
Universidad de la Costa
Johanna Chocontá Bejarano
Juan José Giraldo Huertas
Universidad de La Sabana
Arturo Harker Roa
Universidad de los Andes
Melisa Eyes Escalante
Universidad del Atlántico
Maribel Gallego Vera
Universidad del Quindío
Sandra Paola Berrio Palomo
Universidad del Sinú ‘Elías Bechara Zainúm’
Luz Ángela Prada Rojas
Universidad del Tolima
Andrea Hernández Quirama
Universidad Industrial de Santander
María Cristina Torrado
Pablo Muñoz Specht
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Diana Katerine Cuéllar Guerrero
Gabriel Benavides Rincón
Universidad Pedagógica Nacional
Elsy Domínguez De La Ossa
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar
Civil society and Corporate Social Responsibility
organizations that participated as Strategy co‐
creators:
Jennifer Vega
Nilhen Herazo Martínez
aeioTU ‐ Fundación Carulla
Ximena Norato
Agencia Pandi
María Inés Cuadros
Alejandro Ruiz Caicedo
Aldeas Infantiles SOS Colombia
Angélica Cuenca Gómez
Alianza por la Niñez Colombiana
Carolina Mejía
National Media Association (Asomedios) of
Colombia
Sara Matarazzo
Bethany Christian Services
Paola Andrea Londoño Borrero
Colsubsidio
Ana Beatriz Cárdenas Restrepo
Compensar
Yolanda Alexandra Ángel Ortega
Corparques
Laura Marcela Cantillo Herrera
Corporación de Amor al Niño ‘Cariño’
July Castro
Dulce Hogar NGO
Elina Marisel Peña Julio
Fundación A La Rueda Rueda
Martha Eugenia Segura
Fundación Apego
Marcela Quintero Torres
Fundación Carvajal
Camila Gaviria
Fundación Educación Inteligente e+i SAS
Ángela Orrego
Diana María Pineda Ruiz
Fundación Éxito
Ana María Reyes Castro
Biviana Arango
Fundación Firmeza y Afecto
Margarita Martínez
Fundación Plan
Paola Andrea López M.
Fundación Red contra el Abuso Sexual Infantil
Diana Peláez
Viviana Bayuelo
Fundación Tiempo Feliz
Camilo Valenzuela
Carlos Miranda
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Luz Alcira Granada Contreras
Lumos Foundation
Tatiana Forero
Movilizatorio & Súmate al Juego
Fernanda Restrepo
Ni Una Palmadita
Ángela Constanza Jerez
Niñez Ya
Felipe Cortés
María Teresa Cuesta
Mónica Castaño
Save The Children Colombia
Viviana Cano
Tigo
Sara Cristina Lara González
World Vision International
Gloria Cristina Duarte
Andrea Romero
Natalia Jiménez
Nicolás Quispe
Additional Civil Society Organization
representatives:
Parents’ associations that participated as
Strategy co‐creators:
Nataly Jaramillo Serna
Parents’ association of Sabaneta
Doris Paola Contreras Ortiz
Eliana Zulay Garrido Torres
Isabel Teresa Duran Moncada
Parents’ association of Julio Pérez Ferrero
educational institution (Cúcuta)
Katerinne Rojas Bate
Parents’ association of Ciudad de Montreal
School (Bogotá)
Ilene María Bueno Escorcia
Johanna Henao Parada
Parents’ association of Cristo Rey School
(Arauca)
Kelly Johana García Quiroz
Cajasai School
Adeida Serrano Manrique
La Presentación Santa Teresa School (Cúcuta)
Isslenny Angélica Ramírez Martínez
Parent’s Council of Hogar Infantil Kennedy
María Eugenia Betancurt Pinzón
Parent’s Council (Arauca)
Juan Carlos Téllez
Board of Directors, Colegio Trinitario
(Cartagena)
Juan David Restrepo Franco
Hogar Infantil El Jardín (Pereira)
Lady Sileana Restrepo Cruz
Hogar Infantil Risaralda
Nayruth Margarita Castilla Vizcaíno
Meira del Mar District Educational Institution
Miguel Antonio Duarte Camacho
Carlos Linares
José Celestino Mutis Educational Institution
(Guaviare)
Graciela Varón
Haminton Lozada
Heidy Lorena Quintero Barragán
Mercedes Martínez Mavesoy
Juan Bautista la Salle Educational Institution
Maricela Leyton Díaz
Nuestra Señora del Carmen Educational
Institution
Dayana Zuluaga Flórez
Mamá También
Carolina Piñeros Ospina
Red PaPaz
Andrea Cristina Bonilla
Diana Riveros
Juan Manuel Angulo
Roberto Púa Mora
Sandra Suarez
Additional participating parents
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 1 ‐ BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................. 16
ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND CRUEL, HUMILIATING OR DEGRADING TREATMENT ...................................... 16
CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STRATEGY ............................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 3 – LEGAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................................... 25
NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL & PREVENTION STRATEGY .......................................................................................... 34
STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................................................. 34
FOUNDATIONAL APPROACHES OF THE STRATEGY ............................................................................................................... 35
STRATEGY OBJECTIVE .................................................................................................................................................... 36
STRATEGY COMPONENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 37
ANNEX 1. NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL & PREVENTION STRATEGY MATRIX ............................................................................... 53
ANNEX 2. KEY ASPECTS FOR TERRITORIAL ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL & PREVENTION
STRATEGY ................................................................................................................................................................... 53
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................................... 54
List of Tables
Table 1: Triggering factors for corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment by parents
and caretakers. ................................................................................................................................................... 18
Table 2: Consequences of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment on children and
adolescents. ........................................................................................................................................................ 19
List of Figures
Figure 1: Preparation Stages for the National Pedagogical Strategy and for the prevention of corporal
punishment, cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment……………………………………………………………………….30
Figure 1: National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy Against Corporal Punishment and Cruel, Humiliating
or Degrading Treatment of Children and Adolescents………………………………………………………………………….35
Introduction
In the 2018‐2022 National Development Plan titled “A Pact for Colombia, A Pact for Equality”, the
National Government of Colombia set a 14.3% reduction goal in the rate of violence perpetrated against
children and adolescents. To this end, the National Government brought forward, among other initiatives,
strengthening families as guarantors of safe and nurturing environments for the development of children
and adolescents and the protection of their rights.
In 2019, Colombia took a step toward this goal in joining, as a pathfinding country, the Global
Partnership to End Violence Against Children; later, the nation consolidated the National Partnership
Against Violence Toward Children & Adolescents, a cross‐sector articulation strategy to prevent and
address violence against the underage population, which observes the Objectives for Sustainable
Development.
In compliance with commitments acquired by families the civil society and the National
Government, as set forth in the 2018‐2022 National Development Plan titled “A Pact for Colombia, A Pact
for Equality” and the aforementioned National Partnership, Law 2089 was passed on May 14, 2021 as a
legal ban on the use of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment. Article 5
thereof establishes that the National Government, through the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF),
the Ministry of National Education, the ministry of Health & Social Protection, the Ministry of Information
Technologies & Communications, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice & Law, and the
President's Advisory Council on Childhood and Adolescence must deploy and implement the the National
Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy.
This document compiles a series of successful experiences implemented across various sectors
over the years as intervention measures for the issue at hand. Likewise, the document contains
recommendations and contributions resulting from the joint strategy construction process carried out
across public consultations involving: i) the National Government; ii) regional territorial authorities; iii)
academia; iv) civil society members; v) corporate social responsibility organizations; v) international
cooperation agencies; vii) parents’ associations; viii) parents and caretakers; and ix) children and
adolescents. In addition, the strategy construction process received technical support from Corporación
Juego y Niñez, Universidad del Norte, consulting firms We Push and Atelier, as well as United Nations
Children's Fund (Unicef). The professional staff of technical teams at the abovementioned state agencies
also contributed to this document.
The purpose of this strategy is to transform sociocultural imaginaries, beliefs and behaviors that
have been traditionally used to normalize and justify corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or
degrading treatment of children and adolescents in Colombia. Articulated promotion and prevention
actions aimed toward nurturing care and education, democratic relations, respectful parenting and giving
importance to the voices of children comprise the action plan to fulfill this purpose.
The first chapter comprises a background and brief introduction to corporal punishment and to
cruel, humiliating or degrading treatments around the world and in Colombia. The objective of this
chapter is to familiarize readers with the dimensions of the issue and, in particular, with the consequences
of this violence upon the physical, cognitive, and emotional development of children and adolescents at
the individual, family, community and overarching social levels.
The second chapter discusses the main concepts and approaches that comprise the structure of
the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy. The strategy contemplates pedagogic activities for
society in general to promote a nurturing, respectful and non‐violent care across in diverse settings where
childhood and adolescence elapse.
The third chapter contains a legal framework. This section itemizes the main domestic and
international laws and regulations that have recognized children and adolescents as legal subjects of
human rights. This legal corpus has led to commitments by a number of States—among them, Colombia—
to eliminate violence against this particular population.
To conclude, the fourth chapter presents the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy and
implementation plan detailing its four main axes, its strategic lines, indicators, and main responsible
parties as a State commitment, before children and adolescents, to their integral development and to the
prevention of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatments.
The resulting strategy contemplates the development of a transversal process for monitoring,
follow‐up and reporting; this process involves a cycle of continuous actions to reflect strategy
implementation progress. In addition, said process shall feed reports on the impact of the strategy toward
social and cultural transformations during the 2022‐2030 time span.
Today, 73 years after humanity first took an explicit stand against violence, the entire collective
of actors responsible for guaranteeing the right of children and adolescents in Colombia have come
together and prepared a route map for the next eight years. This route map seeks to eliminate, once and
for all, corporal punishment and any cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment of children and
adolescents.
Reaching this social and cultural transformation goal becomes only possible when society
assumes its role as an agent of change and its commitment to the sustainability of pedagogical actions
intended to facilitate the plan outlined herein.
Chapter 1 ‐ Background
On Corporal Punishment and Cruel, Humiliating or Degrading Treatment
Corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment comprise actions performed
by parents, educators, or other individuals responsible for the care of children and adolescents, with the
“intent” or “motive” of discipline. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006), corporal
punishment involves hitting children with the hand (i.e., smacking, slapping, or spanking) or with an
implement (such as a whip, stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon, etc.). It can also involve kicking, shaking,
throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears, as well as other aggressions
such as burning or scalding, forced ingestion (for example, ingestion of soap or hot spices), or forcing
children to stay in uncomfortable positions. On the other hand, cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment
involves actions that disrespect the dignity of an individual, such as any action that seeks to ignore,
ridicule, belittle, or undermine the child, or any action that scares the child such as threats, physical abuse,
or abandonment, among other actions that have a similar impact on the child.
Law 2089/2021, which prohibits corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading
treatment, was passed as a move toward fulfilling the commitment acquired by families, the civil society
and the National Government to eliminate violence against children and adolescents. To this end, Law
2089 set forth the implementation of a National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy which identifies and
illustrates “alternatives and practices to educate, guide and instill discipline without recurring to violence”
(Congreso de la República de Colombia, 2021, p. 2).
The starting point of the strategy contained herein is the acknowledgment of the magnitude and
severity of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment against children and
adolescents, considering that they have become normalized and deemed justified. Studies and official
figures have highlighted the triggering factors that legitimate and reinforce these violent actions, as well
as these factors’ negative consequences.
Scope of the issue
Worldwide, approximately 6 out of 10 children aged 2 to 14 years are routinely subjected to
corporal punishment by their parents or caretakers (Unicef, 2014, p. 7). A study by Cuartas (2019) on the
national, regional and global prevalence of exposure to aggressive physical and psychological discipline
among children aged 2 to 4 years across 131 countries, found that 220.4 million children are subjected to
corporal punishment and that 230.7 million are subjected to aggressive psychological discipline during
their first 5 years of life (p. 2). In Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular, children under 15 years
of age are regularly exposed to some form of violence, whether it involves emotional aggression or
corporal punishment (Unicef, 2018, p. 1).
In the case of Colombia, in 2018 the Survey on Violence Against Children & Adolescents (EVCNNA)
reported that 37.5 % of men and 21.2 % of women were victims of violence before they turned 18 years
old. Also, 21.2 % of women and 9.5 % of men stated they had been victims of psychological aggression by
their parents and/or caretakers (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, 2018, p. 23).
Whereas these figures are drawn from informative reports from competent national agencies in
regards to the integral care of children and adolescents, there are both high rates of underreporting and
differences in reported figures. Moreover, the cases of violence against children and adolescents
increased during preventive lockdowns for COVID‐19.
On this regard, National Institute of Legal Medicine & Forensic Science records show 4334 cases
of domestic abuse 1 against children and teenagers between January and September 2021; of these, 744
were cases involving children aged 0 to 5 years, 1194 involved children aged 6 to 11 years, and 2406
involved adolescents between 12 and 17 years old2. Between January and December 2020, the Institute
reported 5687 cases of domestic abuse where children and adolescents were the victims.
Regarding this issue, Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) reports in the Missions
Information System (SIM3) reveal that 2776 children and adolescents entered the Administrative Process
for the Restoration of Rights (PARD) between January and October 2021, 51% (1423) of whom were
female whereas 49% (1353) were male. Between January and December 2020, 2482 children and
adolescents entered the PARD due to the same reasons; 52% (1285) were female children and adolescents
whereas 48% (1197) were male.
Between January and October 2021, records of entries into PARD due to psychological abuse
accounted for 1632 children and adolescents, 56% (913) of whom were female and 44% (719) were male.
Between January and December 2020, 2482 children and adolescents entered the PARD due to
psychological abuse; 56% (739) were female whereas 44% (598) were male.
Similarly, during 2020 the National Public Health Monitoring System (Sivigila)4, recorded 6435
events of physical abuse against women and female children and adolescents, comprising 61% of its total
physical abuse records. 2020 also saw a greater proportion of psychological abuse cases against women
and female children and adolescents: 1093 reports (68%), in stark contrast to the 510 (32%) of cases
involving men and male children and adolescents.
On the other hand, in a 2010 study published in Revista Internacional de Pediatría on corporal
punishment in China, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines Sweden, Thailand, the United States and Colombia,
1398 mothers, 1146 fathers and 1417 children aged 7 to 10 years concluded that, in Colombia, 68% of
girls and 63% of boys had been subjected to “mild” corporal punishment (i.e., spanking, slapping or hitting)
and 15% of girls, but 4% of boys, had experienced “severe” corporal punishment (hitting or slapping to
the face or head; boxing ears; repeated hitting with an implement) from a member of their own household
during the previous month (Lansford, 2010, p. 5).
Another 2019 study by the Partnership for Colombian Childhood and Universidad de La Sabana,
involving 928 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, revealed that 52% were hit and 23% were
insulted and/or yelled at. Corporal punishment was mainly inflicted using objects (47%) or by slapping
(38%) or pinching (29%); these actions were primarily inflicted by the mothers (43%), followed by both
parents (17%) (p.25).
1“Domestic abuse is defined as: any individual that, in their famili setting, are victims of physical or psychological harm, threat, offense, injury or any other act of aggression from another family member or from the family unit” (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, 2011, p. 47). 2 Boletín Estadístico Mensual, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal, September 2021. 3 Sistema de Información Misional, Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar. 4 Sivigila provides information and data on events that affect, or might affect, the public health of Colombians. Sivigila receives notifications from reports of suspected gender-based violence and domestic abuse cases.
In 2021, as part of the Crianza Amorosa+Juego national strategy, the President's Advisory Council
on Childhood and Adolescence and Corporación Juego y Niñez surveyed 966 parents and caretakers in 36
municipalities across 27 departments of Colombia in order to identify imaginaries and beliefs on the use
of corporal punishment as a parenting practice. The survey revealed that parents and caretakers consider
that the most common parenting practices involving violence are hitting (878), slapping (726), rejecting
or belittling (719), threatening (718) and humiliating (718), among other. Despite more than 60% of
respondents agree that corporal punishment is an invalid parenting practice, the majority fail to identify
alternatives to provide disciplinary guidance to their children; this situation worsened in the case of
female children and adolescents, who face a continued normalization and justification of violent, abusive
behaviors stemming from gender inequality.
Similarly, the construction of the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy in 2021 carried out
an online survey involving 4695 parents and caretakers across Colombia on the use of corporal
punishment as a practice for parenting and to provide behavioral guidance to children and adolescents.
Findings revealed that around 3100 respondents apply corporal punishment and/or cruel, humiliating or
degrading treatment, and that 2700 consider these actions useful in parenting. Conversely, over 2700
respondents were willing to put non‐violent care approach into practice; 2100 were willing to participate
in programs, projects, workshops or courses to learn more on these practices; and over 1700 were willing
to share their experiences with non‐violent parenting success stories.
Figures and studies reveal a high prevalence of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating, or
degrading treatment across Colombian regions and cultures as a parenting practice used by parents and
caretakers on their children and adolescents. This situation is closely related to individual, interpersonal,
community and social factors, as scientific evidence suggests, and particularly by a social‐ecological model
for violence. This model posits that individuals have biological, cultural, social, economic and interpersonal
traits that affect their vulnerability or resilience to the challenging situations that come up during their
lifetimes (Table 1).
Similarly, there are numerous scientific studies and reports on the consequences of violence at
the individual, interpersonal, interpersonal, community and social levels with telling data and a call for
action (Table 2).
Table 1: Triggering factors for corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment by
parents and caretakers.
Individual level
Beliefs and attitudes that favor the use of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading
treatment.
Perceptions that legitimate the use of violence in parenting.
Lack of knowledge on the developmental stages of children and adolescents.
Parents and caretakers’ expectations regarding children and adolescent behavior, according to gender
and age stereotypes that normalize and perpetuate corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or
degrading treatment.
Parents and caretakers’ social, abusive or problem consumption of psychoactive substances, including
alcohol and drugs.
Parents or caretakers’ mental health issues and inadequate emotional management.
Parents and caretakers’ unemployment.
Lack of knowledge on human rights and democratic values.
Interpersonal level
Domestic abuse and violent practices in parenting.
Gender inequality in household relationships.
Lack of recognition of children and adolescents as legal subjects of rights.
Weak emotional bonds between children and adolescents and their parents or caretakers.
Traumatic family disruption or violent family disintegration.
Unresolved conflict between family members.
Poor or absent family support networks resulting in weakened protection and care roles.
Lack of intergenerational dialog skills to build reliable, democratic and supportive relationships.
Community level
Peer pressure and acceptance of the use of violence in parenting.
Poor or absent community support networks resulting in weakened protection and care roles.
Unawareness, acceptance and/or validation of gender inequality.
Unsafe and violent environments.
Limited or no coverage by programs and strategies to promote the rights of children and adolescents.
High unemployment rates.
Lack of intercultural dialog skills to build reliable, democratic and supportive relationships.
Social level
Culture based on an unequal gender and age relationship structure.
Lack of social recognition of the rights of children and adolescents.
Lack of recognition of children and adolescents as legal subjects of rights.
Authoritarianism.
Relationships centered around adult needs, interests and opinions.
Intergenerational transmission of domestic violence.
Weak implementation of parenting violence‐prevention policies.
Structural poverty.
Lack of recognition of the family as an agent of change, as a collective subject of rights, as a diverse and
pluralistic group.
Source: Pan‐American Health Organization (2017), adapted by the authors.
Table 2: Consequences of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment on children
and adolescents.
Individual level
Physical, psychological, cognitive, social‐emotional and psychosocial effects during childhood and
adolescence development.
Emotional management issues (including pain, anger, fear, sadness, shame, hate, resentment and
guilt).
Weak emotional bonds between children and adolescents and their parents or caretakers, which can
lead to runaway or abandonment situations.
Effects on brain regions where processes including attention, memory, concentration, self‐regulation
and learning, occur.
Difficulties in accessing education, leading to later challenges in economic and work inclusion.
Effects on academic performance and coverage of needs due to lack of parental support.
Discrimination as a result of difficulties to engage in interpersonal relationships.
Exposure to high‐risk situations, settings and environments.
Greater tendency to addiction and suicidal behaviors.
Mood disorders, including anxiety and depression.
Behavioral issues, including aggressive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors.
Negative self‐perception, poor interpersonal relationships, and low self‐esteem.
Mental disorders due to chronic or recurring violence situations.
Interpersonal level
Difficulties to establish and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships, to trust others, and to have a
positively impact their social setting.
Normalization of violence as a means of resolving issues with others in family, school and social settings.
Decreased self‐confidence and capacity to trust the environment for freedom of expression.
Perpetuation of violent relationship patterns.
Community and social level
Learning inadequate and abusive parenting practices and replication in their own later roles as parents
or caretakers.
Greater likelihood to repeat violent, criminal behaviors in public and community settings.
Greater risk of child and adolescent involvement in armed groups, illegal businesses, youth gangs, and
drug trafficking.
Child marriage, untimely marital unions, and increased chances of unwanted pregnancy at an early age.
Forced child and adolescent labor.
Greater likelihood of becoming the victim of different forms of violence.
Lack of tools to identify their own rights and any infringements they might be victims of.
Source: Pan‐American Health Organization (2017), adapted by the authors.
The triggering factors and the consequences that corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or
degrading treatment have on the physical, cognitive and emotional development of children and
adolescents is summarized in the following paragraph:
Children who do not receive a loving and nurturing upbringing are at greater risk of
developing growth and health issues, learning less, abandoning their studies earlier, facing
difficulties to establish trusting relationships, and of being less productive during adulthood. Their
annual income might account for only a third of that of their peers, which leads to a
disadvantageous intergenerational poverty cycle.5
Therefore, the National Government of Colombia has adopted INSPIRE Model6 recommendations
related to legislative changes and the generation of preventive strategies and policies toward the
progressive elimination of violence against children and adolescents.
The National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy aims to create tools to prevent corporal
punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment. The strategy is focused on fostering individual‐
and collective‐level change of practices, beliefs, attitudes, and social norms that validate the use of
violence by parents, caretakers, public servants, and any and all individuals involved in the care and
protection of children and adolescents.
Upon identification of the factors that influence or reinforce the use of violence during parenting,
the strategy enables the definition of a series of actions to influence skill development in parents and
caretakers for nurturing, non‐violent parenting process. Such actions shall also enable recognition of
children and adolescents as legal subjects of rights, gender equality in relationships, as well as changes to
social norms that validate violent practices.
The consequences mentioned earlier herein are foreseeable and preventable by means of
pedagogical actions to raise awareness and consciousness; these actions are aimed to mitigate diverse
factors that promote the use of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment. Thus,
legislative, pedagogical and social efforts seeking to reduce and, ultimately, prohibit these forms of
violence become not only necessary but justifiable. Only by achieving change in these practices, by
learning new ways to raise children and to interact with children and adolescents as legal subjects of
rights, and by the progressive modification of actions and parenting processes that the cycle of violence
in society is broken—particularly in family and interpersonal relationships, which have an impact across
members of entire communities—.
In consequence, this Strategy calls society to act toward preventing these forms of violence by
promoting protective measures, mitigating risk factors and reducing the likelihood of occurrence,
recurrence and perpetuation. This call extends to provide relevant and timely care to reduce the effects
of the use of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or denigrating treatment and any other form of
violence against children and adolescents during their care and education.
In accordance to the above, the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy proposes—from
multiple rights, differential, intersectional, gender, territorial, human development, life course, and do‐
no‐harm approaches—novel pedagogical actions to mitigate factors that promote the use of corporal
punishment and cruel, humiliating or denigrating treatment. Proposed actions fall into one of the
5 Bernard van Leer Foundation. Early Chilhood Matters (2018). Thedros Adhanom Bhebreyesus. WHO. “Placing nurturing care at the centre of global initiatives to improve child health and development”. Citing Ritcher et al., 2017. “Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development”. The Lancet 389 (10064):103-18. In https://bernardvanleer.org/es/ecm-article/placing-nurturing-care-at-the-centre-of-global-initiatives-to-improve-child-health-and-development/ 6 Inspire is a model resulting from the joint efforts of 10 organisms with extensive track records in the promotion of coherent and empirical data-based actions to prevent violence against children and adolescents. The model presents seven strategies that enable the elimination of violence: application and enforcement of values, standards and laws; safe environments; support to parents and caretakers; economic strengthening and income; support and response systems; and education and life skills.
following categories according to their purpose: i) Recognition of children and adolescents as legal
subjects of rights; ii) Promotion of change in practices, beliefs, attitudes and social norms that validate
violent parenting practices, at individual and collective levels; iii) Development of skills in parents and
caretakers to engage in non‐violent, nurturing, democratic and respectful parenting, with the purpose of
breaking the cycle of violence through an integral care strategy that takes into account individual,
community, social and cultural features.
Chapter 2 – Conceptual Framework of the Strategy
The understanding and implementation of this strategy requires the recognition of the key
concepts and approaches that are articulated with the proposed pedagogical actions in order to prevent
and eliminate the use of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment against
children and adolescents.
In addition to the definition cited at the beginning of this document, it is important to understand
that this type of violence has been naturalized and normalized through beliefs, attitudes, norms and social
values passed among generations. Since these have not been questioned or analyzed, they have
perpetuated the harms in the comprehensive development of children and adolescents, and the cycle of
violence.
Carlos Pitillas Salvá invites us to think about the intergenerational transmission of trauma:
When working with families, it is often verified that parents who have serious difficulties in
properly caring for their children have gone through experiences of abuse and neglect during their
childhood. When the emotional wounds of the children have been sufficiently intense and have
not been resolved, they remain with the person all the way to adulthood to the point of pushing
them to repeat the damages that they have suffered themselves on their children (Berastegui and
Salva, 2021, p. 1).
Beliefs, Attitudes and Behaviors
Beliefs refer, for this particular purpose, to those explanations, thoughts and principles that are
held regarding the ways of educating, guiding and disciplining children and adolescents (Myers, 1994),
with a subjective character based on one's own experience. Knowledge, is related to information on the
rights and ways to raise children and adolescents, which come from experience and reason (Canedo, 2003;
Ramirez, 2009).
Beliefs, as well as ways of thinking, feeling and acting, are reflected in attitudes and behaviors
toward the implementation of rights and particular situations that lead to the use of any kind of violence
against children and adolescents during upbringing. From these thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors,
people build rules, agreements, opinions, and social norms based on their culture (Martinez et al., 2004).
Pedagogy for Transformation
The pedagogical actions for transformation correspond to the democratic acts or practices that
promote processes of teaching and learning in people in order to strengthen, reconstruct and create
realities and skills aimed, in this particular case, to a non‐violent, loving and respectful parenting. These
actions take into account human rights, personal history and the characteristics of territory and culture.
In addition, they recognize all people as agents of change (Freire, 1982; Mejia, 2015).
Pedagogical actions can take place from the interaction among people, which gives rise to
reflection based on the recognition of children's rights, the plurality of socio‐cultural contexts,
experiences, needs, interests, uses, customs and worldview. Also, they have the ability to promote the
transformation of beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and social norms of individuals and groups of
children and adolescents; likewise, on the ways of raising and educating, and in particular, on the use of
corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment against them.
As per the foregoing, the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy develops perspectives and
constructions for a social and cultural transformation that promotes a non‐violent, loving, nurturing,
boundaries‐based parental care and through a respectful and democratic relationship with children and
adolescents.
Non‐violent Care with Comprehensive Development and Family Strengthening
The strategy is based on the definitions from the National Policy for Children and Adolescents and
the National Public Policy for Family Support & Strengthening, wherein family is understood as a
“collective subject of rights and a political agent as a unit, a network of relationships and are the primary
and fundamental ties of human development” (Government of Colombia, 2018, p. 25). Similarly, the
family is understood as a subject in a plural sense and is assigned a co‐responsibility role for the
comprehensive protection of children and adolescents along with society and the State. Its capacity is as
well, noted for promoting the development of each of its members collectively and socially (Government
of Colombia, 2018, p. 11).
In summary, the family is considered the first agent of socialization and the most important care
environment in childhood and adolescence. Therefore; love, care, values, respect and limits that do not
affect children's rights must prevail in it. Similarly, care can be exercised through playful and pedagogical
actions developing skills and habits that make people happy in their present, and that guide their
behaviors in the future and the way they relate to others since childhood. From a broader approach, the
home environment can be considered the first place where children and adolescents exercise their rights.
It is relevant to recognize the diversity and plurality of families living in the national territory. In
Colombia, “the system of extended families prevails, where models of shared coexistence between
multiple generations (parents, grandparents, grandchildren, great‐grandchildren, uncles, godchildren,
brothers, etc.) dominate”, and there are different types of parentage, since the members of a family “end
up being relatives by consanguinity, affinity and/or community, characterized not only by being a
community of coexistence but also by maintaining productive structures based on reciprocity, mutual
support and safeguarding of their cultural reproduction” (Government of Colombia, 2018, p. 25)
In this respect, indigenous, Afro‐descendants and Roma populations, as collective subjects of
rights, practice care according to their organization, worldview and autonomy; to this end, the strategy
takes into account differential actions that contribute to preventing corporal punishment, and always
privileges children and adolescents as legal subjects of rights.
However, care or parenting is related to actions taken by parents, family members or caregivers
to ensure the development and growth of children and adolescents. Thus, they provide food, protection,
love, respect, play and recreation, among others, which ensure their survival and integration into social
life (Myers, 1994; Aguirre, 2000).
Non‐violent care, in particular, must be a permanent process of accompaniment, based on
practices of care, protection, education and guidance based on loving, emotional and respectful ties,
effective communication, recognition of rights and differences, as well as in the definition of clear limits
agreed among family members. These nurturing practices are adapted to life stages, achievements,
characteristics and circumstances of those children and adolescents, and are protective factors that
enable their well‐being and comprehensive development.
The non‐violent, loving and respectful care favors comprehensive development, understood as the
process of permanent transformation, through which children and adolescents during their lifetime and
through meaningful experiences, in particular, develop their skills, identity and autonomy (Government
of Colombia, 2018).
It is important to recognize that families require support in the exercise of care by strengthening
and promoting various aspects:
● Emotional management in the family environment: comprises the ability to identify, understand,
express and regulate emotions in an assertive and autonomous manner, which allows for
maintaining healthy relationships and to experience satisfaction and wellbeing in a family
environment (Bisquerra, Pérez, 2007).
● Coexistence and conflict resolution in the household: the use of techniques and skills to address
conflicts and discover and resolve the causes that originated them, are instrumental to achieve
their transformation or dissolution (Cascón, 2001; Torres, 1999).
● Family mental health: this is the state of psychological, emotional and social well‐being of families
and their members. It is a protective factor that promotes well‐being in children and adolescents,
strengthens family coexistence, and prevents and decreases risk factors for the use of violence
during care (World Health Organization, 2018).
● Psychological support in the home environment: comprises actions carried out by professionals
trained to guide families by allowing the development and strengthening of the home
environment, providing psychological resources and strengthening individual and collective skills
based on the particularities and context of each family (IASC Reference Group on Mental Health
and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies, 2010).
Although the concepts included in the document are fundamental for the implementation of the
National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy, it is essential to take into account the knowledge and
experiences of communities, families and environments in which children and adolescents grow and
develop. Also, taking into account the ones from experts and organizations that have worked on strategies
and actions aimed at preventing violence against children and adolescents and promoting their
comprehensive development.
Chapter 3 – Legal Framework
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1959, recognized the rights
of children and adolescents. It took into account, among other principles, that “the child shall enjoy special
protection and have opportunities and services, provided by law and by other means, so that they may
grow physically, mentally, socially, morally and spiritually with freedom and dignity”. This means that
children and adolescents are recognized as subjects of law and need special protection, care and attention
from their parents, caregivers, as well as society and the State.
Subsequently, the UN General Assembly Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) recognized
that children and adolescents are individuals with the right to full physical, mental and social development
and can freely express their views. Furthermore, “State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the
status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members”
(Article 2), And “they shall not be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment” (Article 31).
Colombia ratified the previous convention by integrating it into the constitutionality block. Also,
the 1991 Political Constitution expressly defined that human dignity and the best interests of children and
adolescents prevail over others, which implies that the State, the family and society must guarantee their
protection, comprehensive development and free development of their personality. In this regard, the
Constitutional Court ruled that the best interest is characterized by being: (i) real, as far as it relates to the
particular needs of the minor and their special physical and psychological skills; (ii) independent of the
arbitrary criterion (…) or whim of the parents; (iii) relational, since the protection of the rights of the minor
prevails in the presence of conflicting interests; (iv) coherent with the comprehensive and healthy
development of the child's personality (Ruling C‐313 of 2014).
Article 44 of the Constitution, for its part, recognizes that children and adolescents have the right
to “life, physical integrity, health, and social security, balanced food, their name and nationality, to have
a family and not to be separated from it, care and love, education and culture, recreation, and free
expression of their opinion. They shall be protected against all forms of neglect, physical or moral violence,
kidnapping, sale, sexual abuse, labor or economic exploitation and dangerous work”.
15 years after this Constitution was adopted, the country made progress in the formal and legal
recognition of children and adolescents as subjects of law, through the enactment of the Children and
Adolescents Code. Law 1098 of 2006, Article 18, provides for “protection against mistreatment and abuse
of all kinds by parents, legal representatives, caregivers and members of their family, school and
community groups”. In this case, child abuse is understood as any punishment, humiliation, physical and
psychological abuse, mistreatment, among others.
In addition, Article 38 establishes the obligations of the family, society and the State: The family,
for example, has an obligation to “promote equal rights, affection, solidarity and respect among all its
members. And shall (…) protect them against any situation that threatens their life, dignity and personal
integrity”. Society has an obligation to “know, respect and promote the rights of children and adolescents,
and their prevailing character”. And the State, among other obligations, shall “ensure the conditions for
the exercise of rights and prevent their threat or affectation through the design and implementation of
public policies on children and adolescents (…) as well as to promote respect for physical, psychic and
intellectual integrity of children and adolescents”.
Based on the above policy framework, the country has established public policies with which the
rights of children and adolescents are developed and guaranteed in a comprehensive manner. Among the
most important are; the National Public Policy for Family Support and Strengthening, the Public Policy for
Early Childhood and the National Policy for Children and Adolescents.
The National Public Policy for Family Support and Strengthening 2014‐2024, consider families as
collective subjects of rights and agents of transformation in a broad, plural and diverse sense. It also
recognizes that they are made up of various members, which are related through consanguinity and/or
emotional ties. Similarly, it recognizes the autonomy of their life projects, either as individuals or as a
group, in the understanding that they have the capacity to promote the development of each member. In
the same way, it promotes democratic relationships in families and the management of institutional
capacities to guarantee their rights. In this sense, chapter 3 of the policy “promotes the development of
the capacities of families for coexistence and conflict resolution”.
Public Policy for Early Childhood was developed as State policy through Law 1804 of 2016. Its
main objective is the comprehensive development of all children from gestation to 6 years of age, which
is achieved by guaranteeing rights to them and the expectant mothers.
The 2018‐2030 National Policy on Children & Adolescents contributes to the development of
people between the ages of 6 and 18 by generating social, human and material conditions that favor them.
In this regard, two achievements necessary for the protection of children and adolescents are highlighted:
(i) children and adolescents have a family that welcomes and supports them in their development,
meaning that “families and communities assume the role of caring for children and adolescents,
promoting their development and recognizing their rights”; and (ii) the building of identity, based on
respect and valuation of diversity, for which it is considered that “children and adolescents have adults,
families and communities that respect them, and promote the construction of their own identity,
understand their needs, and they act in accordance with this understanding, promoting tolerance and
non‐discrimination” (National Government 2018‐2030, p. 3).
In addition to the normative developments mentioned above, as well as public policies, the
Colombian State has undertaken to eliminate corporal punishment, cruel, humiliating or degrading
treatment, in compliance with General Comment No. 8 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child held
in 2006. It urges States to take into account that “the promotion of non‐violent forms of parental care and
education should be part of all points of contact between the State, parents and children, in health,
welfare and education services, including early childhood institutions, day‐care centers and schools...”
(Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2006, p. 15).
Finally, in fulfillment of the commitments made in the 2018‐2022 National Development Plan, “A
Pact for Colombia, A Pact for Equality” and in the framework of the National Partnership Against Violence
Toward Children and Adolescents, President Ivan Duque passed Law 2089/2021, which prohibits the use
of corporal punishment and cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment, and establishes the
implementation of the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy. It proposes pedagogical and mental
health actions, psychological treatment and psycho‐emotional management; also, the creation of training
centers, and the offer of courses or tools to educate, guide and discipline without violence.
Consequently, the strategy was built with the participation of the entities responsible for the
national order, the territorial entities, civil society organizations working for the rights of children and
adolescents, the private sector, international cooperation agencies, parents, children and adolescents’
associations.
Chapter 4 ‐ National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy Formulation Process:
Intertwining Voices, Experiences and Actions
Article 5 of the Law 2089/2021, determined six months for the implementation of the National
Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy, beginning on May 14, 2021, date on which it was passed. The design
of this strategy began with the creation of an intersectoral round table, with the participation of the formal
delegates of the responsible national entities: the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, the Ministry of
National Education, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Ministry of Information and
Communication Technologies, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice & Law, and the
President's Advisory Council on Childhood and Adolescence.
In addition, the strategy was prepared with technical and methodological support by Corporación Juego
y Niñez, Universidad del Norte, UNICEF and the consulting firms We Push and Atelier.
First, an enlistment was carried out to plan the preparation of the strategy, as well as the
participation of institutions and parents' associations and the review of technical documents, particularly
the General Comment No. 8 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Inspire Model, the
publications of the Secretariat of the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the "Report on Corporal
Punishment and the Human Rights of Children and Adolescents" of the Organization of American States.
Regarding the above, it was defined that the National Pedagogical & Prevention Strategy would
consist of four initial components, adjusted in the joint construction process: (i) Strengthening of the
promotion, prevention and care services associated with the use of corporal punishment, cruel,
humiliating or degrading treatment; (ii) social mobilization; (iii) participation for social and cultural
change; (iv) knowledge management; and a cross‐cutting component of monitoring, follow‐up and
evaluation. Regarding the methodological development, five phases were carried out, which are shown
in Image 1 and described below:
Source: Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), adapted by the authors.
Figure 1: Preparation Stages for the National Pedagogical Strategy and for the prevention of corporal
punishment, cruel, humiliating or degrading treatment
Phase 1. Round tables and consultations with actors: In this phase of consultation and joint
construction, participants included: (i) delegates from the national Government; (ii) territorial
governments; (iii) national and international experts and academics; (iv) representatives of civil society
organizations; (v) corporate social responsibility offices; (vi) parent associations; (vii) parents and
caregivers; and (viii) children and adolescents. These actors contributed to the strategy preparation
through three types of consultations: (i) a virtual form that inquired about strategies, programs, projects
and other actions taking place in the country to prevent the use of corporal punishment and cruel,