Under a chapter entitled “Training tools” and sub-headed “The rod”, the manual said: “Spanking has become a controversial issue in this day and age. The rod is not just used for disciplining your children, but is also used as a training tool.”
The SAHRC had found the manual to be in violation of the constitution, but the church appealed, arguing, among others, that the SAHRC had joined other parties to the proceedings without affording them an opportunity to respond to allegations made by them.

Church spokesperson Nadene Badenhorst said yesterday they were only recently alerted to the findings by the SAHRC, despite it having been finalised in November.

Badenhorst said the church was also still studying a Gauteng High Court judgment which on Thursday found that a defence of reasonable chastisement was not in line with the constitution and no longer applied in law.

“It appears that the appeal was finalised some nine months before already (at the end of November 2016) and that the SAHRC found in favour of the church on procedural grounds JoshGen has objected to the re-investigation of the matter by the Provincial Commission, among other things, on the basis that legally and practically it is not possible for the matter to be re-admitted to the Provincial Office for re-investigation at this stage,” Badenhorst said.

The SAHRC did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

Source: INL