“The jurisprudential and legal study of distinction between child abuse and punishment of the child by the parents

The problem of child abuse especially abusing it by the parents is one of the dilemmas that has been more visible in the society in the recent years and has severed the social sensitivities in this field. The noticeable fact is the parents’ legal authority to punish the child to discipline him which leads sometimes to loss of his rights and imposing of harms to his body or mind. The issue of disciplining of the child is propounded in the Islamic jurisprudence and has taken a legal position in Iran. Although we should not confuse the two matters but there is a common border between them. It is important to notice that the bodily punishment is one way to discipline of the child and should not be considered inevitable. Therefore, we can take steps based on the jurisprudential reasons to eliminate or at least draw a determined extent for the parents’ authority to disciple the child. To overcome the child abuse we should pass special protective regulations in addition to teaching the children’s rights and Islamic teachings to the parents to improve the physical and mental health of the child.