‘whether it is a last effort or a first step, it is the determined life that lives’
©Lives for Living 2011
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Counselling, Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy
Private Practice, Bolton, Greater Manchester
Lives for Living
Abuse
Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, or a combination of any or all of these. Abuse can also be neglect, which is when parents or guardians don't take care of the basic needs of the children who depend on them.
Physical abuse is often the most easily recognized form of abuse. Physical abuse can be any kind of hitting, shaking, burning, pinching, biting, choking, throwing, beating, and other actions that cause physical injury, leave marks, or cause pain.
Sexual abuse is any type of sexual contact between an adult and anyone younger than 18; between a significantly older child and a younger child; or if one person overpowers another, regardless of age. If a family member sexually abuses another family member, this is called incest.
Emotional abuse can be the most difficult to identify because there are usually no
outward signs of the abuse. Emotional abuse happens when yelling and anger go too
far constantly criticising, threatening or dismissing individuals until their self-
Neglect is difficult to identify and define. Neglect occurs when a child or teen doesn't have adequate food, housing, clothes, medical care, or supervision. Emotional neglect happens when a parent doesn't provide enough emotional support or deliberately and consistently pays very little or no attention to a child. This doesn't mean that a parent doesn't give a child something he or she wants, like a new computer or a cell phone, but refers to more basic needs like food, shelter, and love. It is often deliberate but can be through ignorance or idleness.
Family violence can affect anyone. It can happen in any kind of family. Sometimes parents abuse each other, which can be hard for a child to witness. Some parents abuse their children by using physical or verbal cruelty as a way of discipline.
Abuse doesn't just happen in families, of course. Bullying is a form of abusive behaviour. Bullying someone through intimidation, threats, or humiliation can be just as harmful as beating someone up. People who bully others may have been abused themselves. This is also true of people who abuse someone they are in a relationship with and those who use their position of authority, ie: employers, managers, supervisors, teachers. But being abused is no excuse for abusing someone else.
Abuse can also take the form of hate crimes directed at people just because of their race, religion, abilities, gender, or sexual orientation.
Types of Abuse: