Switch (corporal punishment)
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A switch is a thin, flexible twig from a tree or shrub used as an implement in corporal punishment. The application of a switch is called switching.
Material
[edit]Switches are typically made of strong and flexible wood such as hazel, birch, or hickory.[citation needed] Willow branches are also used, as well as branches from strong trees and large shrubs. Switches are often from a garden or an orchard nearby, or taken from the wild. In the Southeastern United States, fresh-cut, flexible cane (Arundinaria) is commonly used.[citation needed]
Corporal punishment
[edit]
Both historically and in the contemporary era, switching is a form of punishment used by parents.[1][2]
Historically, it was used as punishment against slaves in the United States and was one method of corporal punishment in some armies.[3]: 65–66
The tamarind switch (in Creole English tambran switch) is a judicial birch-like instrument for corporal punishment made from three tamarind rods, braided and oiled, used long after independence in the Commonwealth Caribbean island states of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.[4][failed verification] The Jamaican legal case Osbourne v Jamaica contested, on the grounds of human rights, the legality of the tamarind switch being used as a form of judicial corporal punishment.[5][non-primary source needed] Within Jamaica, the last person to receive the tamarind switch was Errol Pryce in 1997 (sentenced to prison in 1994 for the crime of stabbing his mother-in-law) upon release from prison.[6] The use of the tamarind switch was effectively ended as a possibility for judicial punishment within Jamaica in 2004, though was only formally removed from statute law in 2013.[6][7] The abolishment of the tamarind switch was met with praise from international human rights groups and opposition by some of Jamaica's population.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Davis, Phillip W.; Chandler, Jennifer L.; LaRossa, Ralph (2004-12-01). ""I've tried the switch but he laughs through the tears:" The use and conceptualization of corporal punishment during the Machine Age, 1924–1939". Child Abuse & Neglect. 28 (12): 1291–1310. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.06.011. ISSN 0145-2134.
- ↑ Policastro, Christina; Rush, Zachary; Garland, Tammy S.; Crittenden, Courtney A. (2024-03-28). "Spare the Rod?: College Students' Experiences with and Perceptions of Corporal Punishment". Journal of Child and Family Studies. 33 (9): 2787–2798. doi:10.1007/s10826-024-02806-1. ISSN 1062-1024.
- ↑ Scott, George Ryley (1938). The History of Corporal Punishment (8th ed.). London: Torchstream Books (published 1950).
- ↑ Parker, Quincy (March 7, 2007). "Human Rights Abuse Concerns". The Bahama Journal. Nassau. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
- ↑ "University of Minnesota Human Rights Library". hrlibrary.umn.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
- 1 2 3 Press, Associated (2012-11-16). "Jamaica to abolish flogging punishment". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
- ↑ Law Reform (Flogging and Whipping) (Abolition) Act, 2013 (Jam.) https://www.japarliament.gov.jm/attachments/341_The%20Law%20Reform%20(Flogging%20and%20Whipping)%20(Abolition)%20Act,%202013.pdf
