Children should be disciplined with love and guidance rather than physical punishment, with two student leaders calling for the removal of the clause allowing lawful and moderate chastisement from the proposed constitutional amendments.
Year 12 student and Deputy Head Girl of Jai Narayan College, Hefrani Matavou, says Fiji needs responsible parenting and proper guidance rather than corporal punishment.
While making her submission during the Constitution (Amendment) Bill public consultation at World Harvest Centre, Matavou says Section 40, Subsection 1, Part E, which allows lawful and moderate chastisement for the purpose of correction, should be removed entirely from the draft 2026 Constitution.
Matavou says chastisement involves physical punishment, which cannot be clearly measured as lawful or moderate.
He says the proposed provision contradicts itself because the same section seeks to protect children from abuse, neglect, violence and inhumane treatment while also allowing physical punishment in the name of correction.
Matavou says Fiji should be moving forward in protecting children's rights rather than taking a step backwards by allowing physical punishment.
She says that she can recall her submission to the Constitution Review Commission on this issue.
Insert:Matavou on what the children want 23rd Oct 26
She says the Constitution must protect every child's dignity, safety and right to be free from violence, rather than provide a legal basis for the very harm it seeks to prevent.
Matavou says she is still regarded as a child under the law and is making one clear submission: that the entire sentence allowing lawful and moderate chastisement for the purpose of correction be deleted from the draft Constitution.
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Finau Vutikawalu, the Head Girl of William Cross Primary School, has also called for the removal of the same provision, saying children should be taught with love rather than pain.
Vutikawalu says she is concerned that allowing lawful and moderate chastisement could give adults an excuse to hit children and claim it is for their own good.
She says she wants the Constitution to protect children rather than allow any provision that could be used to justify hurting them.
Vutikawalu refers to Fiji's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, highlighting Article 28, Paragraph 2, which states that school discipline must be administered in a manner consistent with a child's human dignity.
She also refers to Article 19, which requires children to be protected from physical and mental violence, abuse and neglect while in the care of parents or others.
Vutikawalu says children need rules, correction and consequences when they misbehave, but they can learn without being hit.
Insert:Vutikawalu on chastisement provisions 23rd Oct 26
Vutikawalu also calls for greater support for teachers and parents, including school counsellors to help children who are struggling or displaying difficult behaviour.
She questions why the behaviour of a small number of students who repeatedly break school rules should be used to justify physical punishment for all children.
The young head girl also calls on churches, the vanua and community elders to help families learn alternative ways of disciplining children.
Vutikawalu expresses concern about children who may be experiencing violent discipline but are unable to speak about what they are going through.
She says children who break rules still deserve protection and should be taught respect by being treated with respect.
Both students are calling on the committee to ensure the Constitution protects children from physical punishment while supporting responsible parenting, effective discipline and guidance.
