Flagellation or flogging is hitting the body with a whip. The word comes from flagellum, the Latin word for Whip. It is done for one of the following reasons:

• As a form of punishment. Some countries order people to be whipped for certain offenses. Many countries have said that using violence is forbidden when educating children.
• In some cases people whip themselves. This often has a religious meaning.
• In some cases people use whipping in the context of sexual foreplay.

People hurting themselves on purpose often have psychological problems that need to be looked at

Flogging was used to punish convicts in the penal colonies of Australia. After Irish convicts tried to start a riot at Castle Hill in 1804, many were flogged. Paddy Galvin was given 300 lashes at Parramatta, New South Wales. The first one hundred were across his back, and tore open his skin so the bones in his spine could be seen. The second hundred was given across his behind which became like jelly. A doctor ordered that the third hundred was given across the back of his legs. People watching were hit by pieces of skin and flesh.^[1] There are records in Tasmania of a convict named Greenwood, being given 1000 lashes for wounding an officer while trying to escape.^[1]

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