They may indicate corporal punishment (7)
I believe the answer is:
stripes
'corporal punishment' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stripes that I've seen before include "Chevrons on uniforms" , "Long bands of colour" , "Bands or lines" , "See 17" , "Bands of contrasting colours" .)