MOGOENG CJ And the only safety valve available to them is the abovementioned de minimis rule. Although this rule has acute shortcomings in terms of its inability to prevent the abolition of the defence from possibly imposing a strain on the family structure by allowing parents to be prosecuted for even the minutest of well-intentioned infractions, it is at least of some benefit in that it could save parents from being needlessly imprisoned. It does, barring diversion, not necessarily exclude the unlawfulness of the chastisement and a criminal conviction of assault, but only allows the assault to go unpunished on account of its triviality. [53] Arguments for the retention of the defence of reasonable and moderate chastisement are understandable. Barring anger, frustration, abuse of intoxicating substances or sheer irresponsibility, parents who truly chastise their children on the love-driven religious or cultural bases do not always intend to abuse or traumatise their children. For they presumably love them and want only the best for them. It is also debatable whether the use of that method of discipline invariably produces negative consequences. [54] It would thus be an over-generalisation to brand the very possibility of retaining reasonable and moderate chastisement on religious or cultural grounds as an inescapable recipe for widespread excessive application of violence or child abuse. Properly managed reasonable and moderate chastisement could arguably yield positive results and accommodate the love-inspired consequence management contended for by Freedom of Religion. And that would explain why so many other civilisations and comparable democracies have kept this defence alive and relatively few have abolished it.43 43 In Africa, it is only Benin, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Togo and Tunisia that have abolished corporal punishment in all settings, including in the home. Globally, only 54 states in seven territories have fully prohibited corporal punishment in the home, while 145 states in 32 territories have not fully prohibited it. Countries that have moved towards the full protection of children from physical punishment in the home are, for example, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Israel, Latvia, Norway and Sweden. See Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children “Global progress towards prohibiting all corporal punishment” (June 2019), available at http://endcorporalpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/legalitytables/Global-progress-table-with-terrs-alphabetical.pdf. 20