that where punishment becomes violence, it not only violates a child rights but it also places them at further risk of violence as either a victim or perpetrator later in life. Inquiry Info Point 10: What rights does a child have under the Convention on the Rights of a Child in relation to violence? Article 19: “States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment of exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other parent who has the care of the child.” Setting aside the question of where the line is between discipline and violence for a moment, where children are exposed to violence, it substantially increases the risk of them becoming either a victim or perpetrator of family violence in the future, effectively passing on violence from one generation to the next. Tavita1 would be able to attest to this fact if he were still alive today. His father cited the abuse he experienced as a child as the reason why he used to beat Tavita. The Inquiry also heard from Fifita who had been beaten by his dad when he was young. “I was beaten by my very violent father. I smack my kids as well because of what my dad did to me. One day I went too far and hit my kid with a machete, cutting them.” Inquiry participant, Inquiry public hearings The Inquiry has already detailed the consequences of violence towards children, among which it is shown that “children who experienced frequent parental aggression […] exhibited higher levels of physical aggression, delinquency and inter-personal problems”.2 Violent parents are simply teaching their children that violence and aggression is the answer either by being violent directly to the child or through the child witnessing IPV. “The way I learned to argue was the strongest person won by lashing out.” Eteuati Ete, ‘the Laughing Samoan’, Inquiry document 101 Children, especially boys are raised to view violence as the answer to problems and when they are not getting their own way, substituting communication and compromise for violence. 3 If this is the lesson children are learning, it should come as no surprise to learn that later in life people resort to violence rather than communication. This is not just a breach of the human rights of the victim but a breach of the 1 Case Study 1. John Devaney. (2015). “Research Review: The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children.” Irish Probation Journal, 12. p. 82. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/506f/db2353976001352213a72baf3c48aaa743c0.pdf . Accessed 30 May 2018. 3 See Nicole Spector. “Why boys are more likely to be violent — and what can we do to stop it.” (1 March 2018). NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/boys-country-are-hurting-we-can-help-ncna851901. 2