[troubleshooter]

Corporal punishment is legal in most countries, save for a select few like Sweden. However, social acceptability of corporal punishment has changed over the years. Many people have experienced a spanking or slap in the face for talking back, fighting with siblings or other childhood naughtiness. While this may not be the best way to deal with discipline, it doesn’t always mean that person was abused. However, with more liberal views today some people wonder whether or not the punishments they experienced as children were abuse.

While it may not be as reassuring as it should be, the laws on the line between discipline and abuse are a bit hazy. Generally it is stated that spanking children on the bottom with an opened palm is the accepted corporal punishment. However, some signs that your being hit was abuse are some of the following:
-bruises, welts, cuts or scars were left on your body
-your daily life and functioning is affected (This is one of the legal American lines between discipline and abuse. An example of your “daily life and functioning” being affected would be being so sore and bruised the day(s) after being hit that you were unable to sit in your desk at school or play at recess.)
-you were hit with objects such as belts, switches, hangers, electrical cords, or paddles
-you were hit through your teenage years and even into your early 20’s
-you were hit without any actual cause (ex: you could not recall doing anything wrong or did not know why you were being hit)

While some of the above might be hazy there are some things that are definite indicators of abuse. If you can say yes to any of the following with your experiences, then you were definitely abused.
-if you were ever thrown against a wall/the floor/down stairs, burned or scalded, punched, kicked, choked, knocked unconscious, bled profusely, had bones broken, stabbed/cut, starved, or tied up.
-if you were hit every day, almost every day or several times a day
-if you were ever locked in a closet, cupboard or other small space for an extended period (ex: hours, days, weeks)
-if you ever needed to be taken to the hospital
-if you were told or needed to make up false explanations for marks on your body