About adult abuse & neglect
What is abuse? Psychological abuse
Any act, including confinement, isolation, verbal assault, humiliation, intimidation, infantilization, or any other treatment which may diminish the sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth.
This is sometimes called emotional abuse. Some researchers refer to it by formal terms such as "chronic verbal aggression".
Psychological abuse can make the person feel "less of a person". It diminishes the person's sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth. Abused people often find that psychological or emotional abuse is the most hurtful form of abuse.
Psychological abuse may make a person fearful or cause the person mental anguish. This may be done in several ways, including by:
- making the people uncertain about themselves and their abilities (lowering their self esteem),
- threatening some form of violence, or
- threatening to abandon or neglect the person.
Psychological abuse includes behaviours such as:
- Name calling,
- Yelling,
- Insulting the person,
- Threatening the person or threatening to take away something that is important to them,
- Imitating or mocking the person,
- Swearing at them,
- Ignoring,
- Isolating the person,
- Excluding them from meaningful events or activities.
Psychological abuse also happens when the adult is excluded from decision making when the person is capable and wants to be included (in other words, "making decisions for them"), and depriving them of their rights.
Justice Canada includes these as some examples of psychological abuse: (3)
- Threatening to use violence
- Threatening to abandon them
- Intentionally frightening them
- Making them fear that they will not receive the food or care they need
- Lying to them
- Failing to check allegations of abuse against them
- Insulting, swearing, or name calling
- Making derogative or slanderous statements about them to others
- Socially isolating them, or failing to let them have visitors
It can also include:
- Withholding important information that they have a right to know
- Demeaning them because of the language they speak
- Intentionally misinterpreting their traditional practices
- Repeatedly raising the issue of death with them
- Telling them that they are too much trouble
- Ignoring or excessively criticizing them
- Being over-familiar and disrespectful
- Unreasonably ordering them around
- Treating them like servants
- Treating them like children.
If you recognize any of these indicators that are unexplained by the adult then you need to ACT! Report Abuse, Neglect and Self-Neglect.
