Family violence against children is increasingly becoming a cause for concern. It was reported last month that prosperous Guangdong Province will open more domestic violence shelters to deal with the rising number of child abuse cases.

In Baiyun District in Guangzhou, a mother recently locked her 3-year-old daughter in a bathroom for nearly a month. The girl was also physically abused.

Zhang Liling, director of the Children's Department of the Guangdong Provincial Women's Federation, expressed concern that a "growing number of children have been subjected to physical violence at home in recent years."

These children are traumatized by neglect and a hostile home environment. They need immediate psychological help. Providing them with a safe and secure environment is essential to their healing and protection.

An unhappy family is one of the major reasons behind the growing incidence of child abuse. Cases of divorce are rising in recent years and an increasing number of couples are separating. Result: Children are bearing the brunt of the unstable home environment.

Last year, 27,000 of the 110,000 couples who were married in Shanghai in the first nine months of 2006 split up. This is a 20 percent increase from the same period the previous year.

The children of unhappy couples are usually subject to neglect and ill-treatment. They face the wrath of their parents.

Children in happy families are more likely to grow up to be complete individuals. An unhappy child, overcome by a feeling of neglect, may turn to crime. Family harmony in a caring environment is crucial for a child's development.

Parents are, after all, the stewards of children's lives. They are beacon lights for their children. A child needs parental care, affection and guidance to find the right direction in life.

Beating inflicts psychological wounds on the minds of innocent children and gives rise to fear. It can never bring out the best in them.

It is time actions are taken before these traumatized children become a heavy burden on society. For many years now, we have talked about a day when the children of China will be legally protected against all kinds of abuse.

At the same time, corporal punishment for children remains an area of debate.

Is physical punishment - hitting, spanking - the right way to discipline children?

There has been extensive research about the right way to nurture a child. Some parents believe there's truth in the saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Last month about 400 people in New Zealand's capital city of Wellington marched to Parliament in protest over a government proposal to ban parents' hitting children to discipline them.

They were pressing for their right to beat children.

This is shocking.

Parents who had beaten their children with chunks of wood and bamboo canes have been acquitted of assault under the current New Zealand law. The purpose of the bill was to prevent parents who severely beat their children from using the "reasonable force" provision as their defense.

In fact, research shows that children who are beaten physically do not develop as positively as children who are treated with loving care.

It is a welcome step that two residential communities in the city of Foshan in Guangdong Province will start a trial run of a new anti-abuse surveillance system.

E-mail: zouhr@chinadaily.com.hk

(China Daily 04/13/2007 page10)