What can be done by the community and authorities to reduce child abuse by parents?

Impose the extremely harsh penalties and consequences to abusive parents as are so to those involved with drugs offenses, et cetera in Japan.

Stories that I have read, have all stated that neighbors do call authorities, and authorities are lack in acting on them, due to present laws protecting parental rights... Legislation needs to be passed to usurp abusive parents parental rights, so abused children may be moved out of the abusive home, and into a safer location. Good intentions will not help the abused children, if the law is not on their side. It seems an abused pet gets more attention! There are entirely too many cases of horrific child abuse to delay this legislation! Get serious !

Judging by what I saw on the news about that 7-year-old boy who died, I'd say the community needs to trust its instincts when it senses something is wrong.

The boy's dentist noticed the bruises on the the child's body and reported it to the school, which prompted a school visit to the parent's home. But the parents dismissed the school's concerns by saying that they were simply "disciplining" the boy. So the school dropped the issue.

While it's a difficult endeavor to attempt to tell parents how to raise their children, in particular as far as behavior and morality are concerned, it is not a parental right to inflict pain on a child in the manner these parents did. Spankings on the behind are one thing. Beating a child is entirely another.

How do you spell, neutering?

Licence to reproduce!! It will happen sooner or later. We haven't found new planets to populate and there's only so much this planet could handle. We can't keep on reproducing like bacteria. Only eligible people should be allowed to make kids. Noone else. All the world's problems coming from unwanted, unloved kids.

Little or nothing can be done to regualte what psychos do in htier own homes to their own kids. Helplines, nosy neighbours etc all help a little, but this will always go on. Those who say neutering or only allow eligible parents need to define the basis on which they would makemthose calls.

The country needs more prevalent after-school programs with longer hours. I think a lot of parents get bogged down having to pick up and babysit their kids.

pamelot: I agree. The right's of the child have to take precedent over the abusive parents. Also, the chain of procedure also has to be tighter and faster--someone reports suspected child abuse, social workers go to the home to investigate, if evidence of abuse is found then the child is immediately removed from the home, charges are laid against the abuser.--In addition, parents should be educated on how to discipline their children without physical force. It is completely unnecessary.

Damien: You may be right!!

Yeah, I have to agree with Damien too. I have said it before, to drive a car you have to study, practice and take a test, but anybody with an over active libido can have kids. The draconian practice of hitting kids is so pathetic it sickens me! And, it is not just a Japanese issue. There are also many people posting on this site that state, a good old smack is good for kids. Or, I got smacked when I was a kid, so it is alright for me to smack my kids. Any time you raise a hand to a kid it is abuse regardless of the situation or how hard you smack them. Even yelling at kids is abuse. To me, anyone who smacks their kids or disciplines them by intimidation is nothing short of a pathetic bully and it is they who should be disciplined, not the kids.

disillusioned- think youre taking that a bit far. yelling at kids? I think thats hard to define as abuse unless its abuse-ive. What about raising your voice to kids? as a teacher is it ok? i realise some countries dont allow it in schools.

I wouldnt want my children to have a childhood where they arent exposed to some level of verbal conflict/confrontation (which often involves a bit of shouting), as id be worried that if they ever did have a situation like that in life (they will) theyd have trouble coping. its a fairly normal part of human experience i think.

my suggestion for reducing abuse- stop sexualising kids in media. make it illegal.

Maybe, it must just be a good idea, perhaps, to erm.. ban pornographic material with children in from corner shops ?

naah, that's just me being old-fashioned.

they are only cartoons after all.

The matter will be out of control as poverty spreads through out Japan. There is no way to combat it as Japan is locked in a downward spiral due to crushing debt and falling demographics. I predict that sadly child abuse cases will rise and rise the further Japan sinks into the abyss.

umedayo - What about raising your voice to kids? as a teacher is it ok?

The question is not, is it ok? The question is, is it necessary? Sure, yell at a class of kids and watch them laugh at you for being an idiot. there is a very simple philosophy for disciplining and controlling kids - You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Kids are products of their environment. There are no bad kids, only bad parents.

What can be done?

Psychological profiling to prevent people with a history of serious mental ilness, and/or an IQ of less than 70 from having children.

Economic profiling to prevent those below a certain income from having children.

Either regulate the sale of alcohol or bring it inline with other banned substances.