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| - In fiction and in the media in general, both heroes and villains agree on one thing: they Wouldn't Hurt a Child. This creed exists for various reasons: it may be because Children Are Innocent and thus should be protected and kept out of harm's way at all costs; it may be because, to Media Watchdogs, seeing a child being brutalized is Harmful to Minors thus should be avoided; may also be because even writers mostly disagree with the idea of harming a child. But sometimes, some people just don't agree with that. Or just don't care. And, they do hurt children, sometimes even kill them, in defiance of the rule of Infant Immortality. Indeed, the fact of harming a completely harmless and defenseless human being that is a child usually comes off as the ultimate act of villainy and it takes a very specially evil character to do this. Needless to say, this trope is almost always a Kick the Dog moment and can easily get a character into Complete Monster territory. Hence, the presence of Would Hurt a Child is often telltale of a Crapsack World or at least a Darker and Edgier series. However, it is surprisingly easy to subvert this trope simply by using Kids Are Cruel (the flip side of Children Are Innocent) and combining it with Pay Evil Unto Evil. Want to go all the way? Make the children creepy or, even better, make them Enfants Terribles and, this time, hurting said children will look much less as a Moral Event Horizon crossing, even though there will always be some Moral Guardians or Papa Wolf/Mama Bear to complain. In Western works, this trope is rare and almost always done off-panel when played straight (read: when the violence towards the child isn't being stopped in the nick of time and causes actual damage). In Japanese fiction, child brutality is more common. Important Note: This trope is about adults physically hurting children, fatally or not, be they related or not. The following are not examples: slapping, butt-warming and general discipline from parents to their children (that's Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off), psychological/verbal abuse (very common but not that trope), abduction (only applies if the child dies or gets effectively hurt), child on child violence (that's Kids Are Cruel), exploitation for profit (that is Financial Abuse). Violence to teenagers isn't an example either since teenagers are physically stronger than children and lack the "completely defenseless" element, especially if Teens Are Monsters. However, teenagers harming children applies. There is also an interesting Double Standard when it comes to characters applying for this trope, since they are almost Always Male. Rarely will women being described as being physically violent to children. Even rarer are the instances when they actually kill them. Indeed, killing children is among the few things that permanently prevent a woman from a convenient High Heel Face Turn. Extra points if the killing is done directly and at the woman's hands (i.e. stabbing, strangling etc...). Compare Paedo Hunt, another child abuse trope where female perpetrators are similarly unheard of. A subtrope of Kick the Dog. See also Child-Hater, who hates kids but isn't necessarily physically abusive. Contrast Infant Immortality and Wouldn't Hurt a Child. Compare Kids Are Cruel, Children Are Innocent. Related to Eats Babies and Child Eater. Due to the nature of this trope: No Real Life Examples, Please. Examples of Would Hurt a Child include:
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