YOUNGSTERS’ PERCEPTION OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE TOWARDS CHILDREN IN POLAND

Introduction: The subject of this article is to examine young people’s awareness of the legal provisions in force in Poland regarding punishment for using physical violence against children. The research problem is an attempt to determine the degree of compliance, application and enforcement of legal provisions in Poland in the field of criminality of acts constituting physical violence against children. The initial thesis is based on the assumption that in Poland there is a low awareness of young people about the binding legal provisions prohibiting the physical punishment of children and about the harmfulness of all forms of physical violence. Method: The sociological method was used. They were students of secondary schools and a post-secondary school in Wrocław. The research consisted in analyzing the experience of individuals – students in order to determine how these problems are perceived by young people, how they deal with them and how they interpret the world around them and what they encounter, was the basic assumption of our research. Results: The results of the surveys indicate an urgent need for intensive social education on the harmfulness of beating children, including the elimination of seemingly harmless spanking as an educational form. The fundamental problem, in the context of the perceived consent to physical discipline of children in Poland, results from the traditionally understanding of the so-called non-statutory of educational punishment. Key practitioner messages: This text is intended to influence the further development of judicial decisions in the field of educational discipline.