ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the two main aspects of the protection of children. Firstly, children must be protected against a society which may see them as a source of cheap labour or as a group who are defenceless in other ways. The second problem – that is, of intrafamilial abuse, which must have existed in antiquity but which was brought into the bright light only in the 20th century. United Kingdom law is clear that parents has a right to punish their children and that this includes the use of reasonable corporal punishment. Increased reporting is the natural consequence of widening definitions and increasing awareness. There is a tendency to concentrate on the medical profession as the main source of information, but awareness of child abuse is a property of several other groups. The greater part of family law as related to the protection of children in England and Wales is now consolidated in the Children Act 1989.
