But the only difference applies to your own kids. Once you don't beat your kids and teach them not to beat their future kids, they will probably tell their kids the importance of not beating etc etc. over various generations until it branches off to different families doing the same thing, so in a sense you're doing something that's more beneficial in the long run. In other words you're planting a seed, in a sense.
The more people do this, there would possibly be a decrease in such abuse. This is also the case when awareness would actually help too, since it'll reinforce rather than announce.