the ban on corporal punishment the percentage of children who were hit by the parents dropped from 90% to 10%. Even more interestingly was that when the ban was introduced over half of parents wanted to keep smacking but 35 years later this number had dropped to 10%. 8 This provides a great degree of hope and optimism for Samoa. Currently support for corporal punishment is high, but there is nothing to suggest that not only could a ban be introduced but that once enforced, with the right support, it could actually be embraced by parents. For any readers of this Report still with an open mind the burning question will be ‘well if I cannot physically discipline my children then what am I supposed to do?’ “Parents often ask us: ‘But if you do not beat them, how do you discipline your children?’ We maintain that you can get very far with words and that the childparent relationship should not have to resort to violence.” Carolina Romare, Review of ban on smacking in Sweden, Inquiry document 88 This insight into the approach taken from Sweden also helps to answer one of the concerns raised in the course of the Inquiry: “It’s all well and good having positive parenting programmes but these are usually developed around palagi (foreigner) families.” Family Violence Workshop participant, Apia, November 2017 The above quote from Sweden shows that, on the contrary, it is as though their approach is taken straight from the Fa’asamoa and the Samoan strength of talanoa/ fa’asoa; ‘o tama a tagata e fafaga I upu, a’o tama a manu e fafaga I fuga o laau’ (human offspring are fed with words in the same way birds are fed with blossoms). The desire to find an excuse why we should not consider banning corporal punishment is strong because many now know of no other way. There is a natural fear of the unknown. However, as the above expression shows, maybe it is not so unknown after all and that the answers have been contained within the Fa’asamoa all this time. It is just a case that the lessons have been forgotten and lost over time. The Inquiry did not set out to recommend the banning of corporal punishment. Indeed, it was not even discussed in the early stages by the Commissioners. Rather the process was approached with an open mind and after fully considering all of the evidence there was only one logical conclusion to arrive at – that Samoa must move towards banning physical and harsh verbal punishment of children in the homes. Not only does it violate the Fa’asamoa and a child’s individual rights but it is the starting point for the majority of violence in society today. Only by raising children that violence is not the answer can the cycle of violence truly be broken. The success of all of the recommendations within this Report therefore rely heavily on an acceptance that physical and harsh verbal discipline of children amounts to violence, and 8 A.K. “Spanking and crime rates.” The Economist. (15 July 2013). Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/07/spanking-and-crime-rates.