Abuse or Punishment?: Violence toward Children in Quebec Families, 1850-1969

by Marie-Aimée Cliche, W. Donald Wilson (Translator)

Overview

At one time, the use of corporal punishment by parents in child-rearing was considered normal, but in the second half of the nineteenth century this begin to change, in Quebec as well as the rest of the Western world. It was during this period that the extent of ill-treatment inflicted on children—treatment once excused as good child-rearing practice—was discovered.

This book analyzes both the advice provided to parents and the different forms of child abuse within families. Cliche derives her information from family magazines, reports and advice columns in newspapers, people’s life stories, the records of the Montreal Juvenile Court, and even comic strips. Two dates are given particular focus: 1920, with the trial of the parents of Aurore Gagnon, which sensitized the public to the phenomenon of “child martyrs;” and 1940, with the advent of the New Education movement, which was based on psychology rather than strict discipline and religious doctrine.

There has always been child abuse. What has changed is society’s sensitivity to it. That is why defenders of children’s rights call for the repeal of Section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which authorizes “reasonable” corporal punishment. Abuse or Punishment? considers not only the history of violence towards children in Quebec but the history of public perception of this violence and what it means for the rest of Canada.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771120654
Publisher:	Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Publication date:	11/27/2014
Series:	Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Marie-Aimée Cliche has published several articles on the history of single mothers, infanticide (Hilda Neatby Prize, 1990), incest, and legal separation, all in Quebec, and three books: Les Pratiques de Dévotion en Nouvelle-France (1988); Maltraiter ou Punir (Jean-Charles-Falardeau Prize, 2007) and Fous, Ivres ou Méchants? Les Parents Meurtriers au Québec, 1775–1965 (2011).

W. Donald Wilson joined the faculty of the University of Waterloo in 1970, where he remained until his retirement. A former chair of the Department of French Studies at UW, he is the translator of Babies for the Nation: The Medicalization of Motherhood in Quebec, 1910–1970 (WLU Press, 2009) and A Brief History of Women in Quebec (WLU Press, 2014), both by Denyse Baillargeon, and, with Paul G. Socken, of Aaron: A Novel, by Yves Thériault (WLU Press, 2007).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents for
Abuse or Punishment? Violence toward Children in Quebec Families, 1850-1969 by Marie-Aimée Cliche, W. Donald Wilso, translator

List of Tables and Boxes

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I In the Good Old Days: A Rural Society, 1850-1919

Chapter 1 A Discourse Full of Good Intentions

Chapter 2 Everyday Violence within Families, 1850-1919

Part II An Urban Society, 1920-1939

Chapter 3 Aurore Gagnon, the "Child Martyr"

Chapter 4 A More Moderate Approach, 1920-1939

Chapter 5 Violence Viewed from the Juvenile Delinquents' Court, 1920-1939

Part III From World War II to the Quiet Revolution, 1940-1969

Chapter 6 New Expertise and a Different Approach to Parenting, 1940-1969

Chapter 7 "Is That a Good Way to Raise Children?" Violence in the Advice Columns, 1940-1969

Chapter 8 Violence Viewed from the Juvenile Delinquents' Court and the Children's Aid Clinic, 1940-1965

Chapter 9 Aurore, Pauline, Hélène, and Barbara: The Child Martyrs of Allô Police, 1953-1965

Chapter 10 "Humour Is No Laughing Matter": Corporal Punishment in Quebec Comic Strips, 1945-1969

Conclusion

Appendix: Oral Testimonies

Notes

Bibliography

Index of Names

Editorial Reviews

‘‘If the government can't effectively regulate short line railways, it can't regulate the subtleties of parenting. Still they try. For twenty years advocates have sought repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code that sanctions ‘reasonable‘ spanking to correct youngters' behaviour. It was written in 1892 by a Catholic justice minister with nine children, and survived court challenges and parliamentary hearings.... Abuse or Punishment is a lively investigation of spanking rooted in Biblical law and family culture. Cliche examines corporal punishment in Old Québec dating from the nineteenth century, but the research would interest any parent anywhere.''

Blacklock's Reporter, April 4, 2015 - Holly Doan