Corporal punishment can be harmful to children and may lead to long-term negative outcomes, such as increased aggression, mental health problems, and poor academic performance.
That’s not to speak to who’s enforcing it and on who.
Also, there are legal and cultural definitions of child abuse and, at least where I'm from, corporeal punishment isn't necessarily abusive.
What!
For example, it's easy to make the argument that time-out, a common negative reinforcement strategy among parents, constitutes emotional mistreatment. After all it is just a form of solitary confident, and solitary is known for how it emotionally wrecks adults.