The scene took place in a context similar to the videos that we see on campaigns once morest slapping. In June 2019, an argument broke out between a mother and her 12-year-old son over homework. The mother’s lawyer evokes a difficult situation: “He is a single parent who is seriously burned out. The child has what is called acute attention and hyperactivity disorder. They live together. My client estimated that the best way to remind your child of the limits was to give him a slap”explains Benoît Lemal, defense lawyer.
A neighbor who had heard the noise caused the police to intervene on the spot. A doctor finds a contusion, but no lesion. The mother received a 4-month suspended prison sentence for assault and battery, with the aggravating circumstance that the author had authority over the minor victim.
The court holds in particular that she did not express any regret. “There are 22 countries in Europe which prohibit the slapping given by a parent to their child. In Belgium, there are debates and legislative proposals, but the legal text currently applicable by the courts does not prohibit what we call the pedagogical slap”continues the lawyer of the mother.
The mother should appeal this judgment. Her son is in IPPJ, awaiting his trial for attempted murder. He tried to poison his mother a few months following the slapping incident.
