Survey Definitions of Abuse Types

Economic abuse:

Economic/financial abuse “occurs when someone controls a person’s financial resources without the person’s consent or misuses those resources. Financial abuse includes, but is not limited to: not allowing the person to participate in educational programs; forcing the person to work outside the home; refusing to let the person work outside the home or attend school; controlling the person’s choice of occupation; illegally or improperly using a person’s money, assets or property; acts of fraud; pulling off a scam against a person; taking funds from the person without permission for one’s own use; misusing funds through lies, trickery, controlling or withholding money; not allowing access to bank accounts, savings, or other income; giving an allowance and then requiring justification for all money spent; persuading the person to buy a product or give away money; selling the house, furnishings or other possessions without permission; forging a signature on pension cheques or legal documents; misusing a power of attorney, an enduring power of attorney or legal guardianship; not paying bills; opening mail without permission; living in a person’s home without paying fairly for expenses; and, destroying personal property.” (Source: Violence Prevention Initiative)

Educational neglect:

“Educational neglect involves the failure of a parent or caregiver to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school or provide appropriate home schooling or needed special educational training, thus allowing the child or youth to engage in chronic truancy. Educational neglect can lead to the child failing to acquire basic life skills, dropping out of school or continually displaying disruptive behavior.” (Source: American Humane Association)

Educational abuse:

Actively trying to prevent you from getting a college education, not allowing you to get a college education, withholding transcripts, diplomas, or FAFSA information to keep you from going to college.

Emotional abuse:

Emotional abuse “includes actions such as engaging in chronic or extreme spousal abuse in the child’s presence, allowing a child to use drugs or alcohol, refusing or failing to provide needed psychological care, constantly belittling the child and withholding affection. Parental behaviors considered to be emotional child maltreatment include:

• Ignoring (consistent failure to respond to the child’s need for stimulation, nurturance, encouragement and protection or failure to acknowledge the child’s presence);
• Rejecting (actively refusing to respond to the child’s needs — e.g., refusing to show affection);
• Verbally assaulting (constant belittling, name calling or threatening);
• Isolating (preventing the child from having normal social contacts with other children and adults);
• Terrorizing (threatening the child with extreme punishment or creating a climate of terror by playing on childhood fears); and
• Corrupting or exploiting (encouraging the child to engage in destructive, illegal or antisocial behavior).” (Source: American Humane Association)

Identification abuse:

Not providing you with, withholding, or destroying any of your identification documents: driver’s license, social security card, etc.

Medical abuse:

“Medical neglect is the failure to provide appropriate health care for a child (although financially able to do so), thus placing the child at risk of being seriously disabled or disfigured or dying… Concern is warranted not only when a parent refuses medical care for a child in an emergency or for an acute illness, but also when a parent ignores medical recommendations for a child with a treatable chronic disease or disability, resulting in frequent hospitalizations or significant deterioration.” (Source: American Humane Association)

Physical abuse:

Physical abuse is “defined as non-accidental trauma or physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning or otherwise harming a child.” (Source: American Humane Association)

Religious abuse:

Religious abuse, sometimes called spiritual violence, “occurs when someone uses a person’s spiritual beliefs to manipulate, dominate or control the person. [It] includes, but is not limited to: not allowing the person to follow her or his preferred spiritual or religious tradition: forcing a spiritual or religious path or practice on another person; belittling or making fun of a person’s spiritual or religious tradition, beliefs or practices; and, using one’s spiritual or religious position, rituals or practices to manipulate, dominate or control a person.” (Source: Violence Prevention Initiative)

Sexual abuse:

The forcing of unwanted sexual activity by one person on another, as by the use of threats or coercion — this can include molestation and/or rape. Child sexual abuse is defined as “all offences that involve sexually touching a child, as well as non-touching offenses and sexual exploitation.” (Source: American Humane Association)

Sexual harassment:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Such unwelcome actions can include: “sexual pranks, or repeated sexual teasing, jokes, or innuendo, in person or via e-mail; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; touching or grabbing of a sexual nature; repeatedly standing too close to or brushing up against a person; repeatedly asking a person to socialize…when the person has said no or has indicated he or she is not interested; giving gifts or leaving objects that are sexually suggestive; repeatedly making sexually suggestive gestures; making or posting sexually demeaning or offensive pictures, cartoons or other materials…” (Source: U.S. Department of State)

Verbal abuse:

“Verbal abuse occurs when someone uses language, whether spoken or written, to cause harm to a person. Verbal abuse includes, but is not limited to: recalling a person’s past mistakes; expressing negative expectations; expressing distrust; threatening violence against a person or her or his family members; yelling; lying; name-calling; insulting, swearing; withholding important information; unreasonably ordering around; talking unkindly about death to a person; and, telling a person she or he is worthless or nothing but trouble.” (Source: Violence Prevention Initiative)