A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or paddling. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on prisoners and slaves. Physical punishments for crimes or injuries, including floggings, brandings, and even mutilations, were practised in most civilizations since ancient times. With the growth of humanitarian ideals since the Enlightenment, such punishments are increasingly viewed as inhumane in the Western society. By the late 20th century, corporal punishment had been eliminated from the legal systems of most developed countries. In the twenty-first century, the legality of corporal punishment in various settings differs by jurisdiction. Internationally, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the application of human rights law to the question of corporal punishment in a number of contexts:
Un castigo corporal o un castigo físico es un castigo que está destinado a causar dolor físico a una persona. Cuando se inflige a menores, especialmente en entornos domésticos y escolares, sus métodos pueden incluir esparcimiento o paddling. Cuando se inflige a adultos, se puede infligir a prisioneros y esclavos. Los castigos físicos por crímenes o lesiones, incluidos los floggings, los brandings e incluso las mutilaciones, se practicaron en la mayoría de las civilizaciones desde la antigüedad. Con el crecimiento de los ideales humanitarios desde la Ilustración, tales castigos se ven cada vez más como inhumanos en la sociedad occidental. A finales del siglo XX, el castigo corporal había sido eliminado de los sistemas jurídicos de los países más desarrollados. En el siglo XXI, la legalidad del castigo corporal en diversos entornos por diferentes contextos.