Physical Abuse

It is deliberately aggressive or violent behaviour by one person toward another that results in bodily injury. Physical abuse may involve such actions as punching, kicking, biting, choking, burning, shaking, and beating, which may at times be severe enough to result in permanent damage (e.g., traumatic brain injury) or death. It often happens in relationships of trust such as parent and child, caregivers, marriage, etc.

• Bruises, black eyes, welts, lacerations, and rope marks
• Broken bones
• Open wounds, cuts, punctures, untreated injuries in various stages of healing, or any physical signs of being punished or restrained
• Laboratory findings of either an overdose or underdose of medication
• An individual's report of being hit, slapped, kicked, or mistreated

Emotional Abuse: It is also known as psychological abuse. It’s a pattern of behaviour in which one person deliberately and repeatedly subjects another to non-physical acts that are detrimental to behavioural and affective functioning and overall mental well-being. 

• Intimidation
• Coercion 
• Harassment
• Use of threats
• Humiliation and degradation
• Isolation
  
• Excessive control
  
• Rejection and withholding of affection
  
• Bullying
• Verbal abuse
• Uncooperative or aggressive behaviours sometimes in the presence of certain individuals
• Low self-esteem
• Sudden change in behaviour

Neglect: It is failure to provide for the basic needs of a person in one’s care. Neglect may be emotional (e.g., rejection or apathy), material (e.g., withholding food or clothing), or service-oriented (e.g., depriving of education or medical attention). At the individual level, self-neglect may be characterized by a lack of awareness of self in whole or part of the body.

Also closely related to neglect is maltreatment. It may take the form of direct abuse or neglect from another person, which may involve emotional, sexual, or physical action or inaction. Maltreatment also includes such actions as exploitation and denial of basic needs.

• Neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene or affairs
• Lack of self-care to an extent that it threatens the health, safety, and security of others
• Not taking into account the educational, social, or recreational needs of persons under one's care

Sexual Abuse & Exploitation

• Sexual Abuse - Actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
• Sexual Exploitation - Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially, or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. 
•  Sexual Assault - Sexual activity with another person who does not consent. It is a violation of bodily integrity and sexual autonomy and is broader than narrower conceptions of “rape”. This is because (a) it may be committed by other means than force or violence, and (b) it does not necessarily entail penetration.
• Transactional sex - The exchange of money, employment, goods or services for sex. This may include sexual favours, and other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour. 

• The uncharacteristic use of explicit sexual language or significant changes in sexual behaviour or attitude
• Avoids eye contact, appearing frightened when talking with strangers
• Transactional sex
• Solicitation for transactional sex
• Exploitative relationships
  

Organisational or Institutional Abuse

This is the mistreatment of people in their workplace or learning environment. It may be brought about by inadequate care,  support, or practices that affect the workplace or learning environment.

• Authoritarian management or rigid regimes
• Unsafe, unhygienic, or overcrowded workplace and learning environments
• Work overload
• Inappropriate use of restraints
• Failure to respond to abuse appropriately
  
• Failure to respond to complaints
• Lack of adequate procedures for handling abusive incidents
• No respect or provisions for religion, belief, or cultural backgrounds
• Lack of privacy, dignity, and respect of people 

Discrimination: Differential treatment of members of different ethnic, religious, national, or other groups. 

Discrimination is usually the behavioural manifestation of prejudice and therefore involves negative, hostile, and injurious treatment of the members of rejected groups. 

• Negative stereotyping
• Verbal abuse, derogatory remarks or inappropriate use of language related to a protected characteristic
• Preventing access to learning spaces and to assistive devices e.g., hearing aids, glasses, dentures, etc
• Harassment or deliberate exclusion on the grounds of a protected characteristic