To smack or not to smack

Does anybody else have an anti smacking law in their country? And what does that say about us? I am ashamed but in our little slice of paradise we have an unacceptable level of abuse against children the most vunerable members of any society. Who knows why. Warrior race. Frustration. The way it is reported. Any excuse is not good enough. The opponents of the law say it criminalises parents who give their child a light tap on the bottom to correct bad behaviour but in reality no court is going to prosecute for that. I don't mind either way but if it addresses the problem of child abuse which is what it is designed for then it's a good law.
I've had the pleasure of bringing up seven children over 41 years and in hindsight I was a much stricter father at 19 than I am at 60 equating to more smacks to make sure the kids conformed because I was unsure of myself as a parent. Strange because I was very unconformist myself. Later kids got no smacks and they seem fine. In fact they all seem fine. It's amazing how resilient children are. But not to abuse which just seems to perpetuate itself