Lindgren's speech was soon spread worldwide. In her home country Sweden, Astrid Lindgren teamed up with scientists, journalists and politicians to achieve non-violent upbringing. In 1979, due to Astrid Lindgren's speech, a law was introduced in Sweden prohibiting violence against children. Until then there was no such law anywhere in the world. After Sweden, other Nordic countries followed Lindgren's role model. According to article 1631 II of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, children in Germany only have held the "right to a non-violent upbringing" since 2000. Nevertheless, Lindgren's speech also made people think. Because of her speech more scientists where interested in exploring the consequences of violence on children. They could later confirm Lindgren's theses. According to criminologist Christian Pfeiffer, this made people change their opinions about that matter and ultimately led to the change of the law in 2000. After Sweden many other countries around the world have made laws that forbid violence against children. Nepal is now the 54th state that forbids violence against children. As of 2019 Sweden still is working on a program called Never Violence, a programme to strengthen international efforts to legislate against corporal punishment of children at home and school.
