Abstract:
Throughout history, parental child abuse has been repressed and denied; society assumes that parents will protect their children. The tradition of the law in North Carolina has been that a parent may do anything to his child in the name of discipline without state interference unless the punishment is malicious and inflicts serious bodily injury. Periods of recognition and reform have occurred throughout the state's history, and North Carolina has developed two laws for reporting child abuse--voluntary and mandatory laws that have served to increase public awareness and understanding, as well as reporting of abuse.