Abuse is a violation of a person's human rights or dignity by someone else. There are many kinds of abuse; some are listed below:
Physical includes hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, restraint or inappropriate sanctions.
Sexual includes rape and sexual assault or sexual acts to which the vulnerable adult has not consented, could not consent or was pressured into consenting.
Psychological includes emotional abuse, threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, harassment, verbal abuse, isolation or withdrawal from services or supportive networks.
Financial or material includes theft, fraud, exploitation, pressure in connection with wills, property or inheritance or financial transactions, the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions or benefits.
Neglect or acts of omission includes ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health care, social care, education services or misuse of medication, adequate nutrition or heating.
Discriminatory includes racist, sexist behaviour and harassment based on a person's ethnicity, race, culture, sexual orientation, age or disability, and other forms of harassment, slurs or similar treatment.
Institutional abuse can sometimes happen in residential homes, nursing homes or hospitals when people are mistreated because of poor or inadequate care, neglect and poor practice that affect the whole of that service.
Any of these forms of abuse can be either deliberate or be the result of ignorance, or lack of training, knowledge or understanding. Often if a person is being abused in one way they are also being abused in other ways.
Who may be an abuser?
The person who is responsible for the abuse is often well known to the person abused and could be:
What are the signs?
Some of the signs to look for are:
Where does abuse occur?