Different types of abuse can include:
- Physical – for example, hitting, slapping, burning, pushing, restraining or giving too much medication or the wrong medication.
- Psychological – for example, shouting, swearing, frightening, blaming, ignoring or humiliating.
- Financial – for example, the illegal or unauthorised use of a person’s property, money, pension book or other valuables.
- Sexual – for example, forcing a person to take part in sexual activity without consent.
- Neglect or acts of omission – for example, where a person is deprived of food, heat, clothing, comfort or medication.
- Discrimination, including slurs or similar treatment on the ground of a person race, gender and gender identity, age disability, sexual orientation or religion.
- Domestic abuse is when someone you are in a close relationship with behaves in a way that causes you physical, mental or emotional damage and through coercive and controlling behaviour.
- Modern slavery includes human trafficking, forced labour and domestic slavery.
- Organisational abuse includes neglect and poor practice within an institution, care setting or care provided in your own home.
- Self-Neglect – an adult at risk may also neglect themselves.
Any of these forms of abuse can be deliberate, or be the result of either ignorance, or lack of training, knowledge or understanding. Often if a person is being abused in one way they are also being abused in other ways.