Health professionals have demanded a total ban in England on smacking children because it "harms children's health", according to a group representing top doctors.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has called for the "Victorian-era punishment" to be outlawed and is pushing for the removal of a legal defence that currently allows parents to physically discipline their children under "reasonable punishment".
Experts have now claimed that scientific evidence signals that the punishment leads to physical and emotional damage and "doesn't benefit them in any way whatsoever".
RCPCH officer for child protection and consultant paediatrician Professor Andrew Rowland revealed that around 67 countries had implemented the ban and around 20 more have vowed to introduce such legislation.
England and Northern Ireland are the only parts of the UK yet to ban such a punishment (Stock)
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The consultant said: "That defence of reasonable punishment of children in England has been around since 1860 but, in recent legislation, it was introduced in the Children Act of 2004.
"Now is the time for this Victorian-era punishment to go and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill amendment will do that if passed."
Scotland was the first regional government to ban smacking children in 2020, followed by Wales in 2022.
Labour's Jess Asato - the MP who tabled the amendment - said: "The health impact evidence of assault on children is clear, and that's why so many other countries, including Scotland and Wales, have now ensured that children have equal protection from assault and battery."
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Last December, England's children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza called for immediate reform to current legislation after Sara Sharif, 10, was murdered by her father and stepmother.
The case was "a heartbreaking reminder of the profound weaknesses in our child protection system".
She said: "What haunts me the most about Sara's death is that her father used the words 'I legally punished my child' believing this to be a defence to murder."
A YouGov survey - commissioned by the NSPCC - that collected data from 3,500 adults in England in January revealed that 71 per cent of respondents believed smacking, slapping, shaking or hitting a child is not acceptable.
The case of Sara Sharif was "a heartbreaking reminder of the profound weaknesses in our child protection system", Rachel de Souza said
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Prof Rowland added: "The best scientific evidence I've got is that physical punishment of children undoubtedly harms children's health on a population basis.
"It harms their physical health, places them at increased risk of serious physical assault, it harms their mental health and it harms their emotional health and their wellbeing - all of that is shown in robust scientific evidence."
Schools minister Catherine McKinnell told MPs last month that Labour does "not intend to legislate of the defence at the stage" but will wait for the findings published in a report into the ban's impact in Wales - which will be published at the end of this year.
She explained: "We need to consider their voices, and those of the child, trusted stakeholders and people who might be disproportionately affected by the removal of the defence, in making any decisions."
