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Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to
unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of
aggression. To these descriptions, one can also add the Kantian notion of the wrongness of using another human being as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. Some sources describe abuse as "socially constructed", which means there may be more or less recognition of the suffering of a victim at different times and societies.
Types and contexts of abuse
Abuse of authority
Abuse of authority includes harassment, interference, pressure, and inappropriate requests or favors.
Abuse of corpse
:''See:
Necrophilia''
Necrophilia involves possessing a physical attraction to dead bodies that may led to acting upon sexual urges. As corpses are dead and cannot give consent, any manipulation, removal of parts, mutilation, or sexual acts performed on a dead body is considered abuse.
Abuse of discretion
An abuse of discretion is a failure to take into proper consideration, the facts and laws relating to a particular matter; an arbitrary or unreasonable departure from precedent and settled judicial custom.
Abuse of dominance
Market dominance by companies is regulated by public and private enforcement of competition law, also known as antitrust or anti-monopoly law.
Abuse of indulgences
In the Catholic Church, an indulgence is a way to reduce punishment for sin, often by prayer, pilgrimage or good works. In the Middle Ages, some Church officials demanded money in exchange both for forgiveness of sins and for other rewards such as future salvation.
Abuse of information
Abuse of information typically involves a breach of confidence or plagiarism, or extending the confidence of information beyond those authorised.
In the financial world,
Insider trading can also be considered a misuse of internal information that gives an unfair advantage in investment.
Abuse of power
Abuse of power, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official misconduct", is the commission of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a
for cause removal of an elected official by
statute or
recall election
A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...
.
Abuse of process
A cause of action in
tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
arising from one party making a malicious and deliberate misuse or perversion of regularly issued court process (civil or criminal) not justified by the underlying legal action.
Abuse of rank
Rankism (also called abuse of rank) is treating people of a lower rank in an abusive, discriminatory, or exploitative way.
Robert W. Fuller claims that rankism includes the abuse of the power inherent in superior rank, with the view that rank-based abuse underlies many other phenomena such as bullying, racism,
sexism, and
homophobia.
Abuse of statistics
:''See:
Abuse of statistics
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
''
Abuse of the system
:''See:
Abuse#Gaming the system''
Abuse of trust
:''See:
Position of trust
A position of trust is any position that requires its holder to enjoy the trust of those who elected or chose the holder. It is often used in a more restricted sense defined by an organization or by legislation.
One possible legal summary of a Pos ...
''
Abusive supervision
Abusive supervision is most commonly studied in the context of the workplace, although can arise in other areas such as in the household and at school. "Abusive supervision has been investigated as an antecedent to negative subordinate workplace outcome". "
Workplace violence has combination of situational and personal factors". The study that was conducted looked at the link between abusive supervision and different workplace events.
Academic abuse
Academic abuse is a form of workplace bullying which takes place in institutions of higher education, such as colleges and universities. Academia is highly competitive and has a well defined hierarchy, with junior staff being particularly vulnerable.
Adolescent abuse
:''See:
Anti-social behaviour
Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...
,
Juvenile delinquency,
Parental abuse by adolescents
Abuse of parents by their children, also known as child-to-parent violence (CPV), is a form of domestic violence, and is one of the most under-reported and under-researched subject areas in the field of psychology. Parents are quite often subject ...
,
Parental abuse of adolescents
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child or children, especially by a ...
''
Adult abuse
Adult abuse refers to the abuse of vulnerable adults.
Alcohol use disorder
Alcohol use disorder, as described in the
DSM-IV
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langu ...
, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite its negative consequences.
[National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism]
"Diagnostic Criteria for Alcohol Abuse and Dependence"
''Alcohol Alert,'' No. 30 PH 359, October 1995. Alcohol use disorder is sometimes referred to by the less specific term alcoholism. There are two types of people with alcohol use disorder: those who have anti-social and pleasure-seeking tendencies, and those who are anxiety-ridden- people who are able to go without drinking for long periods of time but are unable to control themselves once they start.
is another form of alcohol use disorder. Frequent binge drinking or getting severely drunk more than twice is classed as alcohol misuse.
According to research done through international surveys, the heaviest drinkers happen to be the United Kingdom's adolescent generation.
Animal abuse
Animal abuse is the infliction of suffering or harm upon animals, other than humans, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for fur. Diverging viewpoints are held by jurisdictions throughout the world.
Anti-social behavior
Anti-social behavior is often seen as public behavior that lacks judgement and consideration for others and may damage them or their property. It may be intentional, as with vandalism or
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
, or the result of negligence. Persistent anti-social behavior may be a manifestation of an
antisocial personality disorder. The counterpart of anti-social behavior is
pro-social behavior
Prosocial behavior, or intent to benefit others, is a social behavior that "benefit other people or society as a whole", "such as helping, sharing, donating, co-operating, and volunteering". Obeying the rules and conforming to socially accepted beh ...
, namely any behavior intended to help or benefit another person, group or society.
Bullying
Bullying is repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group attacking those who are less powerful. Bullying may consist of three basic types of abuse –
verbal,
physical and
emotional. It typically involves subtle methods of
coercion such as
intimidation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways. Although the UK currently has no legal definition of bullying, some US states have laws against it. Bullying is usually done to coerce others by
fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
or
threat.
Character assassination
Character assassination is an attempt to tarnish a person's reputation. It may involve exaggeration or
manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person. It is a form of
defamation and can be a form of an ad hominem (to the person) argument.
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children. In the United States, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
(CDC) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.
Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organisations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse:
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...
,
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
,
psychological/emotional abuse, and
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
.
Parental abuse of children
:''See:
Abuse#Child abuse''
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of
child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation.
[
*] Different forms of this include: asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities (regardless of the outcome), some types of
indecent exposure of genitalia to a child, displaying pornography to a child, actual
sexual contact against a child, viewing or engaging in physical contact with the child's genitals for sexual purposes, or using a child to produce
child pornography
Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...
.
=Child-on-child sexual abuse
=
Child-on-child sexual abuse refers to a form of child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more other children or adolescent youths, and in which no adult is directly involved. This includes sexual activity between children that occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion;[ ] particularly when physical force, threats, trickery, or emotional manipulation are used to elicit co-operation.
Church abuse
:''See: Abuse#Spiritual abuse''
Civil rights abuse
Clandestine abuse
Clandestine abuse is sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
, psychological, or physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
"that is kept secret for a purpose, concealed, or underhanded."
Clerical abuse
:''See: Catholic sex abuse cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, a ...
''
Cyber abuse or cyber bullying
Cyberbullying "involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others." -Bill Belsey
Dating abuse or dating violence
Dating abuse is a pattern of abusive behaviour exhibited by one or both partners in a dating
Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...
relationship. The behaviour may include, but is not limited to; physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
; psychological abuse; and sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
.
Defamation
Defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product
Product may refer to:
Business
* Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem.
* Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution
Mathematics
* Produ ...
, group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
, government or nation a negative image. It is usually—but not always,[e.g., in the case the offense of defamatory libel under the common law of ]England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, where prior to the enactment of section 6 of the Libel Act 1843 ( defense of justification for the public benefit), the truth of the defamatory statement was irrelevant, and it continues to be sufficient that it is published to the defamed person alone. a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication be communicated to someone other than the person defamed (termed the claimant).
Detainee abuse
:''See: Abuse#Prison abuse or prisoner abuse''
Disability abuse
It has been noted that disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
people are disproportionately affected by disability abuse and bullying, and such activity has been cited as a hate crime.cleft lip
A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The te ...
) – but also those with learning disabilities
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...
, autismdevelopmental coordination disorder
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia or simply dyspraxia from the word 'praxis' meaning to do or act, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaire ...
.BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
programme on a Castlebeck care home (
Winterbourne View
The Winterbourne View hospital inquiry occurred at Winterbourne View, a private hospital at Hambrook, South Gloucestershire, England, owned and operated by Castlebeck. A ''Panorama'' investigation, broadcast on television in 2011, exposed the phys ...
) near
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, leading to its closure and suspension or firing of staff members.
[ Consequences of the BBC undercover report]
Discriminatory abuse
Discriminatory abuse involves picking on or treating someone unfairly because something about them is different; for example concerning:
Discriminatory laws such as
redlining have existed in many countries. In some countries, controversial attempts such as
racial quotas have been used to redress negative effects of discrimination.
Other acts of discrimination include
political libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
,
defamation of groups and
stereotypes based on
exaggeration
Exaggeration is the representation of something as more extreme or dramatic than it really is. Exaggeration may occur intentionally or unintentionally.
Exaggeration can be a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke stron ...
s.
Doctor abuse
:''See:
Abuse#Medical abuse,
Bullying in medicine,
Patient abuse''
Domestic abuse or domestic violence
Domestic abuse can be broadly defined as any form of abusive behaviours by one or both partners in an
intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...
, such as marriage, cohabitation, family, dating, or even friends.
Domestic violence has many forms, including:
* physical aggression (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, throwing objects), or threats thereof
*
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
*
emotional abuse
* financial abuse (withholding money or controlling all money, including that of other family members)
* social abuse (restricting access to friends and/or family, insulting or threatening friends and/or family), controlling or domineering
*
intimidation
*
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...
* passive/covert abuse (e.g.,
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...
)
*
economic deprivation
Depending on local statues, the domestic violence may or may not constitute a crime, also depending on the severity and duration of specific acts, and other variables. Alcohol consumption
and
mental illness have frequently been associated with abuse.
Drug abuse
:''See:
Abuse#Substance abuse''
Economic abuse
Economic abuse is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner's access to economic resources,
which diminishes the victim's capacity to support him/herself and forces him/her to depend on the perpetrator financially.
Elder abuse
Elder abuse is a type of harm to older adults involving abuse by trusted individuals in a manner that "causes harm or distress to an older person". This definition has been adopted by the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
from a definition put forward by
Action on Elder Abuse in the UK. The abuse includes violence,
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...
, and other crimes committed against an elderly person and their forms include physical, mental, and financial abuses as well as passive and active neglect.
Emotional abuse
:''See:
Psychological abuse''
While there is an absence of consensus as to the precise definition of emotional abuse, it is classified by the U.S. federal
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Public Law 93–247) of 1988 provides financial assistance for demonstration programs for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect and to establish a National Center on Ch ...
as a form of mental injury. The typical legal definition, particularly in the area of child welfare, accepted by the majority of U.S. states describes it as injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability as evidenced by an observable or substantial change in behavior, emotional response or cognition.
Employee abuse
:''See:
Workplace abuse or workplace bullying''
False accusations
False accusations (or false allegations) can be in any of the following contexts:
* informally in everyday life;
*
quasi-judicial
A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...
ly;
*
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
ly.
Financial abuse
Examples of financial (or material) abuse include: illegal or unauthorised use of a person's property, money, pension book or other valuables (including changing the person's
will to name the abuser as heir); and often fraudulently obtaining
power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
, followed by deprivation of money or other property, by eviction from their own home; or by
taking advantage of their age or disability.
Further reading
* Baumhoefner, Arlen (2006). ''Financial Abuse of the Deaf And Hard of Hearing Exposed.''
* Bechthold, Henry L (2003). ''Blowing the Whistle on the Christian Church in America: The Political Hypocrisy, Double Standards and Financial Abuse Exposed.''
* Carnot, Edward J (2003). ''Is Your Parent in Good Hands?: Protecting Your Aging Parent from Financial Abuse and Neglect (Capital Cares)''.
* Roubicek, Joe (2008). ''Financial Abuse of the Elderly; A Detective's Case Files of Exploitation Crimes.''
Flag abuse
Flag abuse (or flag desecration) is a term applied to various acts that intentionally destroy, damage or mutilate a flag in public, most often a national flag. Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies. Some countries have laws forbidding methods of destruction (such as burning in public) or forbidding particular uses (such as for commercial purposes); such laws may distinguish between desecration of the country's own national flag and flags of other countries. Countries may have laws protecting the right to burn a flag as free speech.
Gaming the system
Gaming the system (also called bending the rules, gaming the rules, playing the system, abusing the system, milking the system, or working the system) can be defined as using the rules and procedures meant to protect a system to instead
manipulate
Manipulation may refer to:
* Manipulation (psychology) - the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way
*Crowd manipulation - use of crowd psychology to direct the behavior of a crowd toward a specific action
::* Internet mani ...
the system for a desired outcome.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is
manipulation through persistent
denial
Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...
, misdirection, contradiction, and
lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...
in an attempt to
destabilize and delegitimize a target. Its intent is to sow seeds of doubt in the targets, hoping to make them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.
[ ] Instances may range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred up to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim. The term owes its origin to ''
Gaslight
Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...
'', a 1938 play and 1944 film, and has been used in clinical and research literature.
Gay abuse or gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying are
verbal or
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
against a person perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, or
bisexual, including people who are actually heterosexual, or of non-specific or unknown
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
.
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of offensive behaviour. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset. In the legal sense, it is behaviour which ''is found'' threatening or disturbing.
Power harassment
Power harassment is a form of harassment and workplace bullying in which someone in a position of greater power uses that power to harass or bully a lower-ranking person. It includes a range of behavior from mild irritation and annoyances to ser ...
is harassment or unwelcome attention of a political nature, often occurring in the environment of a workplace.
Sexual harassment refers to persistent and unwanted sexual advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing sexual requests are potentially very disadvantageous to the victim.
Hate crimes
Hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain
social group
In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
; usually defined by
racial group
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
, religion,
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
,
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
,
ethnicity, nationality,
age,
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
,
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
, or
political affiliation.
"Hate crime" generally refers to
criminal acts
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
which are seen to have been motivated by
hatred of one or more of the listed conditions. Incidents may involve
physical assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
, damage to property,
bullying,
harassment,
verbal abuse or
insults
An insult is an expression or statement (or sometimes behavior) which is disrespectful or scornful. Insults may be intentional or accidental. An insult may be factual, but at the same time pejorative, such as the word " inbred".
Jocular exc ...
, or offensive graffiti or inflammatory letters (hate mail).
Hazing
Hazing is considered any activity involving
harassment, abuse, or
humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
as a way of
initiating a person into a
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
.
Hazing is seen in many different types of groups; including within
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
s, clubs,
sports teams,
military units, and
workplace
A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of th ...
s. In the United States and Canada, hazing is often
associated with Greek-letter organisations (
fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
). Hazing is often prohibited by law and may be either physical (possibly
violent
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...
) or mental (possibly
degrading) practices. It may also include nudity or sexually oriented activities.
Human rights abuse
Human rights are "basic rights and
freedoms
Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and F ...
to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include
civil and political rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
, such as the right to life and
liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
,
freedom of expression, and
equality before the law; and
economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to be treated with respect and dignity, the
right to food, the
right to work
The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and should not be prevented from doing so. The right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized ...
, and—in certain countries—the
right to education
The right to education has been recognized as a human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free, compulsory primary education for ...
.
Humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of
pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being
humbled or reduced to lowliness or
submission
Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
. It can be brought about through
bullying,
intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by
embarrassment
Embarrassment or awkwardness is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits (or thinks of) a socially unacceptable or frowned-upon act that is witnessed ...
if a person is revealed to have committed a socially or legally unacceptable act.
Incivility
Incivility is a general term for social behaviour lacking in civility or good
manners
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
, ranging from
rude
Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted beha ...
ness or lack of
respect towards elders; vandalism and
hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
; or public
drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...
and threatening behaviour.
Institutional abuse
Institutional abuse can typically occur in a
care home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
,
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
, acute hospital or in-patient setting and can be any of the following:
Further reading
* Barter, Christine (1998). ''Investigating Institutional Abuse of Children (Policy, Practice, Research).'' National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
* Beker, Jerome (1982). ''Institutional Abuse of Children and Youth (Child & Youth Services)''. Routledge.
* Manthorpe J, Penhale B, Stanley N (1999). ''Institutional Abuse: Perspectives Across the Life Course.'' Routledge.
* Westcott, Helen L (1991). ''Institutional Abuse of Children – From Research to Policy: A Review (Policy, Practice, Research S.) ''National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Insult
An insult is an expression, statement or behaviour considered to be degrading and offensive.
Intimidation
Intimidation involves intentional behavior that would cause a person of reasonable apprehension to fear
harm
Harm is a moral and legal concept.
Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following:
* pain
* death
* disability
* mortality
* loss of abil ity or freedom
* loss of pleasure.
Joel Feinberg gives an account of harm as setbacks to inte ...
or
injury. Within the context of a criminal prosecution it is not necessary to prove that the behavior caused the victim to experience
terror or panic. "The calculated use of violence or the
threat of violence to attain goals political, religious, or ideological in nature... through intimidation,
coercion, or instilling
fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
" can be defined as terrorism.
Legal abuse
Legal abuse refers to abuses associated with both
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
and
criminal legal action.
Lesbian abuse
:''See:
Gay abuse or gay bashing''
Malpractice
:''See:
Negligence''
Market abuse
Market abuse may arise in circumstances where financial investors have been unreasonably disadvantaged, directly or indirectly, by others who:
* have used information which is not publicly available (insider dealing)
* have distorted the price-setting mechanism of financial instruments
* have disseminated false or misleading information.
Material abuse
:''See:
Financial abuse''
Medical abuse
Mental abuse
:''See:
Psychological abuse''
Military abuse
''War crimes'' are "violations of the laws or customs of war", including "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave
labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of
prisoners of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity".
[ (see also: '']The Black Book of Communism
''The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression'' is a 1997 book by Stéphane Courtois, Andrzej Paczkowski, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Margolin, and several other European academics documenting a history of political repression by co ...
'')
''War rape'' is rape committed by soldiers, other
combatants or civilians during armed conflict or war. During war and armed conflict rape is frequently used as means of
psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
to
humiliate the enemy and undermine their
morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps (), is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value ...
.
''Military sexual trauma'' is
sexual assault and rape experienced by military personnel. It is often accompanied by
posttraumatic stress disorder.
Mind abuse or mind control
Mind abuse or mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically
manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated". The term has been applied to any tactic,
psychological or otherwise, which can be seen as subverting an individual's sense of control over their own
thinking
In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...
, behaviour, emotions or decision making.
Misconduct
Misconduct means a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. Three categories of misconduct are ''official misconduct'', ''professional misconduct ''and ''sexual misconduct''.
Mobbing
Mobbing means
bullying of an individual by a group in any context. Identified as
emotional abuse in the workplace (such as "ganging up" on someone by co-workers, subordinates or superiors) to force someone out of the workplace through rumour,
innuendo,
intimidation,
humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
,
discrediting
A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics.
It can be applied to individual ...
, and
isolation, it is also referred to as malicious, nonsexual, nonracial, general
harassment.
Mobbing can take place in any group environment such as a workplace, neighbourhood or family.
Narcissistic abuse
Narcissistic abuse is a term that emerged in the late 20th century, and became more prominent in the 2000s decade. It originally referred specifically to abuse by
narcissistic parent
A narcissistic parent is a parent affected by narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder. Typically, narcissistic parents are exclusively and possessively close to their children and are threatened by their children's growing independence. Thi ...
s of their children, but more recently has come to mean any abuse by a
narcissist
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
(egotistical person or someone with arrogant pride).
Neglect
Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a caregiver responsible for providing care for a victim (a child, a physically or mentally
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
adult, an animal, a plant, or an inanimate object) fails to provide adequate care for the victim's needs, to the detriment of the victim. It is typically seen as a form of laziness or apathy on the form of the caregiver, rather than ignorance due to inability; accordingly, neglect of a child by and adult with mental disorders or who is overworked is not considered abuse, although this may constitute child neglect nonetheless.
Examples of neglect include failing to provide sufficient
supervision,
nourishment
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nu ...
,
medical care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health p ...
or other needs for which the victim is helpless to provide for themselves.
Negligence
Negligence is
conduct that is
culpable (to blame) because it falls short of what a
reasonable person
In law, a reasonable person, reasonable man, or the man on the Clapham omnibus, is a hypothetical person of legal fiction crafted by the courts and communicated through case law and jury instructions.
Strictly according to the fiction, it i ...
would do to protect another
individual from foreseeable risks of harm.
Nurse abuse or nursing abuse
Online abuse
:''See:
Abuse#Cyber abuse or cyber bullying''
Parental abuse by children
Abuse of parents by their children is a common but under-reported and under-researched subject. Parents are quite often subject to levels of
childhood aggression, typically in the form of
verbal or
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
, in excess of normal childhood aggressive outbursts. Parents feel a sense of
shame and
humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
to have that problem, so they rarely seek help; nor is much help available today.
Passive–aggressive behaviour
Passive–aggressive behaviour is a form of
covert abuse. It is passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following through with expectations in
interpersonal or occupational situations.
It can manifest itself as
learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control. It was initially thought to be caused by the subject's acceptance of their powerlessness, by way of their discontinuing atte ...
,
procrastination
Procrastination is the action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so. The word has originated from the Latin word ''procrastinatus'', which itself evo ...
, stubbornness,
resentment,
sullenness, or deliberate and repeated failures in accomplishing tasks for which one is (often explicitly) expected to do.
Patient abuse
Patient abuse or
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...
is any action or failure to act which causes unreasonable suffering, misery or harm to the patient. It includes
physically striking or
sexually assaulting a patient. It also includes withholding of necessary food, physical care, and medical attention. It applies to various contexts such as hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and home visits.
Peer abuse
"Peer abuse" is an expression popularised by author Elizabeth Bennett in 2006 to reinforce the idea that it is as valid to identify
bullying as a form of abuse just as one would identify any other form of abuse. The term conveys similar connotations to the term ''
peer victimisation''.
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are
religious persecution,
ethnic persecution, and
political persecution
Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
; though there is naturally some overlap between these terms.
Personal abuse or personal attacks
:''See:
Abuse#Ad hominem abuse''
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation,
pain, injury, or other physical
suffering or
bodily harm.
Torture
Torture is any act by which severe
pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted.
Police abuse
''Police brutality'' is the intentional use of excessive force by a police officer. Though usually physical it has the potential to arise in the form of
verbal attacks or
psychological intimidation. It is in some instances triggered by "
contempt of cop
"Contempt of cop" is law enforcement jargon in the United States for behavior by people toward law enforcement officers that the officers perceive as disrespectful or insufficiently deferential to their authority. It is a play on the phrase ''co ...
", i.e., perceived disrespect towards police officers.
''Police corruption'' is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits and/or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest.
''Police misconduct'' refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Police misconduct can lead to a
miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...
and sometimes involves discrimination.
Political abuse
Prejudice
A prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment toward a group of people or a single person because of
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, social class,
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
,
ethnicity,
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
,
age,
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
, political beliefs, religion, line of work or other personal characteristics. It also means
a priori beliefs (without knowledge of the facts) and includes "any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence." Although positive and negative prejudice both exist, when used negatively, "prejudice" implies fear and
antipathy toward such a group or person.
Prison abuse or prisoner abuse
Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated.
Abuse falling into this category includes:
*
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
: hitting, beating, or other unauthorised
corporal punishment.
*
Psychological abuse:
taunting
A taunt is a battle cry, sarcastic remark, gesture, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the tar ...
,
sleep deprivation, or other forms of psychological abuse, occasionally
white noise
*
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
: forced intercourse, genital mutilation, or other forms of sexual abuse.
* Other abuse: refusal of essential medication,
humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
, etc.
*
Enhanced interrogation
"Enhanced interrogation techniques" or "enhanced interrogation" is a euphemism for the program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and various components of the U.S. Ar ...
: methods implemented in the
War on Terror purportedly needed to extract information since other techniques would not yield results.
*
Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
: any act by which severe
pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted
Professional abuse
Professional abusers:
* take advantage of their client or patient's trust
* exploit their
vulnerability
Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally."
A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...
* do not act in their best interests
* fail to keep
professional boundaries
Abuse may be:
*
discriminatory
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...
*
financial
*
physical/
neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness an ...
ful
*
psychological/emotional
*
sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
Professional abuse always involves:
*
betrayal of trust
*
exploitation of vulnerability
* violation of professional boundaries
Further reading
* Dorpat, Theodore L (1996). ''Gaslighting, the Double Whammy, Interrogation and Other Methods of Covert Control in Psychotherapy and Analysis. ''Jason Aronson, Incorporated.
* Penfold, P. Susan (1998). ''Sexual Abuse by Health Professionals: A Personal Search for Meaning and Healing.'' University of Toronto Press.
Psychological abuse
Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that is psychologically harmful. Such abuse is often associated with situations of power imbalance, such as
abusive relationships,
bullying,
child abuse and in the
workplace
A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of th ...
.
Racial abuse
Racism is abusive attitudes or treatment of others based on the belief that
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
is a
primary determinant of human traits and capacities. It is a form of
pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
that one's own race is superior and, as a result, has a right to "rule or dominate others", according to a ''
Macquarie Dictionary'' definition. Racism is correlated with and can foster race-based
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
, violence,
dislike, discrimination, and
oppression
Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination ...
.
Ragging
Ragging is a form of abuse on newcomers to educational institutions in India,
Sri Lanka, and Australia. It is similar to the American phenomenon known as
hazing. Currently, Sri Lanka is said to be its worst affected country in the world.
Rape
Rape, a form of
sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving
sexual intercourse (with or without sexual penetration) of another without the other's
consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as und ...
(this includes those who are considered unable to consent, e.g., if they were inebriated or asleep)
The rate of reporting, prosecution and convictions for rape varies considerably in different jurisdictions. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) estimated that 91% of US rape victims are female and 9% are male, with 99% of the offenders being male.
[ The study was conducted in Detroit, USA.] In one survey of women, only two percent of respondents who stated they were sexually assaulted said that the assault was perpetrated by a stranger.
For men,
male-male rape in prisons has been a significant problem.
Relational aggression
Relational aggression, also known as covert aggression
or covert
bullying is a type of
aggression in which harm is caused through damage to
relationships or social status within a group rather than physical violence.
[
]
Religious abuse
Religious abuse refers to:
* use of religious teachings in an abusive manner that causes psychological harm
* harassment or humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
on the basis of the victim's religion, (see religious discrimination
Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated u ...
)
* misuse of a religion for selfish, secular or ideological
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...
ends, see
** religion and politics Religion in politics covers various topics related to the effects of religion on politics. Religion has been claimed to be "the source of some of the most remarkable political mobilizations of our times".
Religious political doctrines
Various po ...
** abuse of a clerical position to perpetrate non-religiously motivated abuse, such as in the Catholic sex abuse cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, a ...
* any form of religious violence
Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the subject or the object of violent behavior. All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war. Religious violence is violence th ...
, including:
** human sacrifice
** violent initiation rites
Resident abuse
:''See: Resident abuse''
Rudeness
Rudeness (also called impudence or effrontery) is the disrespect and failure to behave within the context of a society or a group of people's social laws or etiquette.
Satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organised abuse, sadistic ritual abuse and other variants) was a moral panic that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout the country and eventually to many parts of the world, before subsiding in the late 1990s.
School bullying
School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time.
Sectarian abuse
Self-abuse
Self-destructive behaviour is a broad set of extreme actions and emotions including self-harm and drug abuse. It can take a variety of forms, and may be undertaken for a variety of reasons. It tends to be most visible in young adults and adolescents, but may affect people of any age.
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse is the forcing of undesired sexual behaviour by one person upon another, when that force falls short of being considered a sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a ''sexual abuser'' or – more pejoratively – ''molester''.child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
.
Sexual bullying
Sexual bullying is "any bullying behaviour, whether physical or non-physical, that is based on a person's sexuality or gender. It is when sexuality or gender is used as a weapon by boys or girls towards other boys or girls – although it is more commonly directed at girls. It can be carried out to a person's face, behind their back or through the use of technology."
Sibling abuse
Sibling abuse is the physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
of one sibling by another.
It is estimated that as many as 3% of children are dangerously abusive towards a sibling, making sibling abuse more common than either child abuse by parents or spousal abuse.
Smear campaign
A "smear campaign", "smear tactic" or simply "smear" is a metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatised group. Sometimes smear is used more generally to include any reputation-damaging activity, including such colloquialisms as mud slinging.
Societal abuse
:''See: Abuse#Structural abuse''
Spiritual abuse
Spiritual abuse occurs when a person in religious authority or a person with a unique spiritual practice misleads and maltreats another person in the name of God(s), religion, or in the mystery of any spiritual concept. Spiritual abuse often refers to an abuser using spiritual or religious rank in taking advantage of the victim's spirituality (mentality and passion on spiritual matters) by putting the victim in a state of unquestioning obedience to an abusive authority.
Spousal abuse
:''See: Abuse#Domestic abuse or domestic violence''
Stalking
Stalking is unwanted attention towards others by individuals (and sometimes groups of people). Stalking behaviours are related to harassment and intimidation. The word "stalking" is a term that has different meanings in different contexts in psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
and psychiatry
Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...
; and some legal jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
J ...
s use it to refer to a certain type of criminal offence
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
. It may also to refer to criminal offences or civil wrongs that include conduct which some people consider to be stalking, such as those described in law as "harassment" or similar terms.
Structural abuse
Structural abuse is sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
, emotional or physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
that is imposed on an individual or group by a social or cultural system or authority. Structural abuse is indirect, and exploits the victim on an emotional, mental or psychological level.
Substance use disorder
A substance use disorder is a patterned use of a drug in which the person consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others, and is a form of substance-related disorder. Widely differing definitions of substance use disorder are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. In some cases criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long term personality changes in individuals may occur as well.[(2002). '']Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary
''Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions'' is a dictionary of health related topics. The 8th edition, published in 2009, contains 2,240 pages and 2,400 colour illustrations. It includes some encyclopaedic definitions and 12 ap ...
''. Sixth Edition. Drug abuse definition, p. 552. Nursing diagnoses, p. 2109. .
Surveillance abuse
Surveillance abuse is the use of surveillance methods or technology to monitor the activity of an individual or group of individuals in a way which violates the social norms or laws of a society. Mass surveillance by the state may constitute surveillance abuse if not appropriately regulated. Surveillance abuse often falls outside the scope of lawful interception. It is illegal because it violates peoples' right to privacy
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 194 ...
.
Taunting
A taunt is a battle cry, a method in hand-to-hand combat, sarcastic remark, or insult intended to demoralise the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviours without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the target's cultural capital
In the field of sociology, cultural capital comprises the social assets of a person (education, intellect, style of speech, style of dress, etc.) that promote social mobility in a stratified society. Cultural capital functions as a social relatio ...
(i.e. status
Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to:
* Status (law)
** City status
** Legal status, in law
** Political status, in international law
** Small entity status, in patent law
** Status confere ...
). In sociological
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
theory, the control of the three social capitals is used to produce an advantage in the social hierarchy as to enforce one's own position in relation to others. Taunting is committed by either directly bullying, or indirectly encouraging others to bully the target. It is also possible to give a response of the same kind, to ensure one's own status. It can be compared to fighting words and trash-talk
Trash talk is a form of insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their abilities as to win e ...
.
Teacher abuse
:''See: Teacher abuse
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
''
Teasing
Teasing is a word with many meanings. In human interactions, teasing comes in two major forms, ''playful'' and ''hurtful''. In mild cases, and especially when it is reciprocal, teasing can be viewed as playful and friendly.
However, teasing is often unwelcome and then it takes the form of harassment. In extreme cases, teasing may escalate to actual violence, and may even result in abuse. Children are commonly teased on such matters as their appearance
Appearance may refer to:
* Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light
* Human physical appearance, what someone looks like
* ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp
* Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
, weight, behaviour, abilities
Abilities are powers an agent has to perform various actions. They include common abilities, like walking, and rare abilities, like performing a double backflip. Abilities are intelligent powers: they are guided by the person's intention and exe ...
, and clothing. This kind of teasing is often hurtful, even when the teaser believes he or she is being playful. One may also tease an animal. Some animals, such as dogs and cats, may recognise this as play; but in humans, teasing can become hurtful and take the form of bullying and abuse.
Telephone abuse
:''See: Nuisance call''
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.
At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism
There is no universal agreement on the legal definition of terrorism, although there exists a consensus academic definition created by scholars.
Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions of terrorism, and governm ...
. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatant
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belliger ...
s (e.g., neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
military personnel or civilians). It is sometimes sponsored by state policies when a country is not able to prove itself militarily to another enemy country.
Transgender abuse or trans bashing
Trans bashing is the act of victimising
Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Peer victimisation
Peer victimisat ...
a person physically, sexually, or verbally because they are transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
or transsexual
Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignmen ...
. Unlike gay bashing
Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers vio ...
, it is committed because of the target's actual or perceived gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
, not sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
.
Umpire abuse
Umpire abuse refers to the act of abuse towards an umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
, referee, or other official in sport. The abuse can be verbal abuse (such as namecalling), or physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
(such as punching).
Verbal abuse or verbal attacks
Verbal abuse is a form of abusive behaviour involving the use of language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
. It is a form of profanity
Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
that can occur with or without the use of expletives. While oral communication is the most common form of verbal abuse, it also includes abusive words in written form.
Verbal abuse is a pattern of behaviour that can seriously interfere with one's positive emotional development and can lead to significant detriment to one's self-esteem, emotional well-being
Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...
, and physical state. It has been further described as an ongoing emotional environment organised by the abuser for the purposes of control.
Whispering campaign
A whispering campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumours or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumours seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them (for example, a political campaign might distribute anonymous flyers attacking the other candidate).
Workplace abuse or workplace bullying
Workplace bullying, like childhood
A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...
bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behaviour against a co-worker. Workplace bullying can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
and humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
. This type of aggression is particularly difficult because unlike the typical forms of school bullying
School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim repeatedly by acting aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verb ...
, workplace bullies often operate within the established rules and policies of their organisation and their society. Bullying in the workplace is in the majority of cases reported as having been perpetrated by a manager and takes a wide variety of forms.
Characteristics and styles of abuse
Some important characteristics and styles of abuse are:
* overt abuse
* covert (or controlling) abuse
* unpredictability
* disproportional (exaggerated
Exaggeration is the representation of something as more extreme or dramatic than it really is. Exaggeration may occur intentionally or unintentionally.
Exaggeration can be a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke stron ...
) reactions
* dehumanisation and objectification
In social philosophy, objectification is the act of treating a person, as an object or a thing. It is part of dehumanization, the act of disavowing the humanity of others. Sexual objectification, the act of treating a person as a mere object of sex ...
* abuse of information
* impossible situations ( setting up to fail)
* control by proxy
* ambient abuse (gaslighting
Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone so as to make them question their own reality. The term derives from the title of the 1944 American film '' Gaslight'', which was based on the 1938 British theatre play '' G ...
)
Abusive power and control
Abusive power and control (or controlling behaviour or coercive control) is the way that abusers gain and maintain power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
and control over a victim for an abusive purpose such as psychological, physical, sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
, or financial abuse. The abuse can be for various reasons such as personal gain, personal gratification
Gratification is the pleasurable emotional reaction of happiness in response to a fulfillment of a desire or goal. It is also identified as a response stemming from the fulfillment of social needs such as affiliation, socializing, social approva ...
, psychological projection
Psychological projection is the process of misinterpreting what is "inside" as coming from "outside". It forms the basis of empathy by the projection of personal experiences to understand someone else's subjective world. In its malignant forms, i ...
, devaluation
In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curre ...
, envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
, or just for the sake of it as the abuser may simply enjoy exercising power and control.
Controlling abusers may use multiple tactics to exert power and control over their victims. The tactics themselves are psychologically and sometimes physically abusive. Control may be helped through economic abuse
Economic abuse is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner's access to economic resources, which diminishes the victim's capacity to support themselves and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially.
I ...
thus limiting the victim's actions as they may then lack the necessary resources to resist the abuse.[''Economic abuse wheel'']
Women's Domestic Abuse Helpline. Retrieved 13 December 2016. The goal of the abuser is to control and intimidate
Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...
the victim or to influence
Influence or influencer may refer to:
*Social influence, in social psychology, influence in interpersonal relationships
** Minority influence, when the minority affect the behavior or beliefs of the majority
*Influencer marketing, through individ ...
them to feel that they do not have an equal voice in the relationship.[Jill Cory; Karen McAndless-Davis. ]
When Love Hurts: A Woman's Guide to Understanding Abuse in Relationships
'. WomanKind Press; 1 January 2000. . p. 30.
Manipulators and abusers control their victims with a range of tactics, including positive reinforcement (such as praise, superficial charm, flattery
Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or romantic co ...
, ingratiation, love bombing, smiling
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
, gifts, attention), negative reinforcement, intermittent or partial reinforcement, psychological punishment Psychological punishments are punishments that aim to cause mental pain or discomfort in order to punish an individual. Psychological punishments are usually designed to cause discomfort or pain through creating negative emotions such as humiliation ...
(such as nagging, silent treatment
Silent treatment is the refusal to communicate verbally and electronically with someone who is trying to communicate and elicit a response. It may range from just sulking to malevolent abusive controlling behaviour. It may be a passive-aggressiv ...
, swearing, threats, intimidation, emotional blackmail
Emotional blackmail and FOG are terms popularized by psychotherapist Susan Forward about controlling people in relationships and the theory that fear, obligation and guilt (FOG) are the transactional dynamics at play between the controller and t ...
, guilt trip
A guilt trip is a feeling of guilt or responsibility, especially an unjustified one induced by someone else.
Overview
Creating a guilt trip in another person may be considered to be manipulation in the form of punishment for a perceived trans ...
s, inattention) and traumatic tactics (such as verbal abuse or explosive anger
Rage (also known as frenzy or fury) is intense, uncontrolled anger that is an increased stage of hostile response to a perceived egregious injury or injustice.
Etymology
Rage is from c. 1300, meaning "madness, insanity; fit of frenzy; rashne ...
).Traumatic bonding
Trauma most often refers to:
*Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
*Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic inju ...
can occur between the abuser and victim as the result of ongoing cycles of abuse in which the intermittent reinforcement of reward and punishment creates powerful emotional bonds that are resistant to change and a climate of fear
Culture of fear (or climate of fear) is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias; it was developed as a sociological framework by Frank Furedi and has been mo ...
.[Chrissie Sanderson. ]
Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse
'. Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 15 June 2008. An attempt may be made to normalise, legitimise, rationalise, deny, or minimise the abusive behaviour, or blame the victim for it.gaslighting
Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone so as to make them question their own reality. The term derives from the title of the 1944 American film '' Gaslight'', which was based on the 1938 British theatre play '' G ...
, mind games, lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...
, disinformation
Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.
The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...
, propaganda, destabilisation
The word destabilisation can be applied to a wide variety of contexts such as attempts to undermine political, military or economic power.
Psychology
In a psychological context it is used as a technique in brainwashing and abuse to disorient a ...
, brainwashing and divide and rule
Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power divisively. Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their ter ...
are other strategies that are often used. The victim may be plied with alcohol or drugs or deprived of sleep to help disorientate them.
Certain personality types feel particularly compelled to control other people.
Psychological characteristics of abusers
In their review of data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (a longitudinal birth cohort study; n = 941) Moffitt et al. report that while men exhibit more aggression overall, gender is not a reliable predictor of interpersonal aggression, including psychological aggression. The study found that whether male or female, aggressive people share a cluster of traits, including high rates of suspicion and jealousy; sudden and drastic mood swings; poor self-control; and higher than average rates of approval of violence and aggression (in American society, females are, on average, excused when violent against males). Moffitt et al. also argue that antisocial
Antisocial may refer to:
Sociology, psychiatry and psychology
*Anti-social behaviour
*Antisocial personality disorder
*Psychopathy
*Conduct disorder
Law
*Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
*Anti-Social Behaviour Order
*Crime and Disorder Act 1998
* ...
men exhibit two distinct types of interpersonal aggression (one against strangers, the other against intimate female partners), while antisocial women are rarely aggressive against anyone other than intimate male partners.
Male and female perpetrators of emotional and physical abuse exhibit high rates of personality disorders. Rates of personality disorder in the general population are roughly 15%–20%, while roughly 80% of abusive men in court-ordered treatment programmes have personality disorders.
Effects of abuse on victims
English et al. report that children whose families are characterised by interpersonal violence, including psychological aggression and verbal aggression, may exhibit a range of serious disorders, including chronic depression
Dysthymia ( ), also known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as major depressive disorder, but with lon ...
, anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...
, dissociation and anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
. Additionally, English et al. report that the impact of emotional abuse "did not differ significantly" from that of physical abuse. Johnson et al. report that, in a survey of female patients (n = 825), 24% suffered emotional abuse, and this group experienced higher rates of gynaecological problems. In their study of men emotionally abused by a wife/partner (n = 116), Hines and Malley-Morrison report that victims exhibit high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.
Namie's study[Namie, G. (October 2000). ''U.S. Hostile Workplace Survey 2000''. Paper presented at the New England Conference on Workplace Bullying, Suffolk University Law School, Boston.] of workplace bullying found that 31% of women and 21% of men who reported workplace bullying exhibited three key symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (hypervigilance
Hypervigilance (more accurately understood as Hyper-awareness) is a condition in which the nervous system is filtering sensory information and the individual is in an enhanced state of sensory sensitivity or sensory domination. The name itself is ...
, intrusive imagery, and avoidance behaviours). A 1998 study of male college students (n = 70) by Simonelli & Ingram found that men who were emotionally abused by their female partners exhibited higher rates of chronic depression
Dysthymia ( ), also known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as major depressive disorder, but with lon ...
than the general population.
A study of college students (n = 80) by Goldsmith and Freyd report that many who have experienced emotional abuse do not characterise the mistreatment as abusive. Additionally, Goldsmith and Freyd show that these people also tend to exhibit higher than average rates of alexithymia (difficulty identifying and processing their own emotions).
Jacobson et al. found that women report markedly higher rates of fear during marital conflicts. However, a rejoinder argued that Jacobson's results were invalid due to men and women's drastically differing interpretations of questionnaires. Coker et al. found that the effects of mental abuse were similar whether the victim was male or female. Pimlott-Kubiak and Cortina found that severity and duration of abuse were the only accurate predictors of aftereffects of abuse; sex of perpetrator or victim were not reliable predictors.
Analysis of a large survey (n = 25,876) by LaRoche found that women abused by men were slightly more likely to seek psychological help than were men abused by women (63% vs. 62%).
In a 2007 study, Laurent, et al., report that psychological aggression in young couples (n = 47) is associated with decreased satisfaction for both partners: "psychological aggression may serve as an impediment to couples development because it reflects less mature coercive tactics and an inability to balance self/other needs effectively." A 2008 study by Walsh and Shulman
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
* Macpherson, Michael Colin ''The psychology of abuse'' (1985) Search for this book:
* Behera, Navnita Chadha ''Perpetuating the divide: Political abuse of history in South Asia journal Contemporary South Asia'', Volume 5, Issue 2 July 1996, Pages 191–205
* Birley, J. ''Political abuse of psychiatry'' Psychiatry, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 22–25
* Bonnie, Richard J. ''Political Abuse of Psychiatry in the Soviet Union and in China: Complexities and Controversies'' J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 30:136–44, 2002
External links
*
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