Many people went or go through abuse or neglect without realizing it. They likely have issues stemming from their experiences that they’re not aware of or don’t know how to fix. This post covers various types of abuse and neglect with examples.
Learning the different types of abuse and neglect can help you see whether you went through or are going through abuse, or whether you’re being abusive towards others.
Someone who was abused or neglected as a child might still go through abuse now. It could still be by their parents or by a new abuser in their current life.
And unfortunately, if you were raised by abusive parents, you might’ve picked up some of their abusive behaviors. So it’s important to learn the different types of abuse and neglect so you won’t end up treating your children or loved ones the same way your parents treated you.
Learning about how your parents might’ve been abusive can also help you learn more about your childhood. It can give you insight into why you are who you are today and why you might feel, think, or act the way you do.
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Simply put, the difference between abuse and neglect is that one is action and the other one is inaction.
Something done to somebody that may cause harm is abuse. Meanwhile, something withheld or not provided to somebody that may cause harm is neglect.
Both abuse and neglect can vary in severity. It can also take many forms. There is also a possibility of overlap.
For example, medical neglect can be considered physical abuse. Or emotionally abusive behavior can be considered emotional neglect.
This post is created to help child abuse victims and survivors identify the type of abuse or neglect they may have experienced or are currently experiencing from their parents, caregivers, or whomever else so that they can begin healing.
This post is NOT intended to provide definitions of abuse or neglect on legal grounds. If you’re interested in the technical terms and what’s considered lawful or not, please refer to your local government or child welfare website.
Types of Abuse
Abuse is an act of commission. It’s an action done to someone that can cause some type of harm.
Abuse is often defined as one person intentionally hurting another. But really, it’s more than that.
One incident of intentional harm isn’t necessarily abuse. For something to be considered abuse, it often has to be a persistent pattern of harmful or toxic behavior towards another person.
Oftentimes, abuse occurs because the perpetrator is trying to maintain control over the victim. This can happen to a child, spouse, elder, employee, or anyone else the abuser can have power over.
When thinking about abuse, most people think about physical abuse. But abuse is not just physical or violent. On top of physical abuse, other common types of abuse are emotional, sexual, and financial abuse.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is the repeated use of physical force on another person intending to cause injury, pain, impairment, or even death.
In general, sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual implications, harassment, or contact that may involve force and/or threats. Or it may occur when a victim is unable to consent.
Types and Examples of Sexual Abuse
Verbal: Using spoken or written words to express, evoke, or imply sexual content such as sexual jokes, name-calling, solicitation, sexting, and stalking
Covert: Attempting to get some form of sexual satisfaction from the victim without their knowledge through stalking, photographing, or spying
Visual: Exposing unwanted sexual content to the victim such as sexually explicit images, nudity, flashing, and sexting
Physical: Non-consensual touching, fondling, kissing, oral sex, or intercourse
Ritualistic: Sexual abuse blended with some form of spirituality and ritual such as incest rituals, genital mutilation, or child marriages
In regards to child sexual abuse, it is the deliberate exposure of a child to sex or sexual activities that they cannot comprehend or consent to. Learn more about child sexual abuse and how or where to get help here.
Examples of Child Sexual Abuse
Fondling or inappropriate touching of a child’s private areas
Having intercourse or oral sex with a child
Engaging in sexual activity in front of a child
Having a child touch an adult’s private area
Exposing child to pornography, sexual activity, or X-rated books or movies
Using a child in pornography
Forcing a child to undress or spying on a child in the bathroom or bedroom
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is also known as psychological abuse or mental abuse. It is when the abuser intentionally causes mental or emotional pain in the victim through verbal or nonverbal acts. It’s almost always present when another form of abuse is found.
Financial abuse is also known as economic abuse or material abuse. It’s to take away someone’s ability to earn or access money as a way to control them.
Due to the nature of financial abuse, it happens more often to adults than children. However, some teenagers might also endure financial abuse from their parents who don’t want them to become independent.
Examples of Financial Abuse
Restricting access to money, bank accounts, credit cards, or financial information
Controlling all household finances
Preventing the victim from getting a degree or job
Sabotaging employment opportunities such as trying to get the victim fired
Stealing or taking money from the victim
Intentionally making the victim’s credit score go down
Withholding money for basic necessities
Refusing to work or contribute to expenses but demands the victim to pay for all expenses
Types of Neglect
Neglect is an act of omission or inaction towards someone that can cause some type of harm.
Oftentimes, neglect refers to child neglect. Child neglect is when a caregiver doesn’t provide necessities or care for the child even though they have the means to do so. It can be intentional or with disregard for the child’s well-being.
Some don’t consider neglect as severe or impactful as abuse. Maybe a single act of neglect isn’t child abuse. But repeated neglect is. Neglect can leave long-term damage just as much as abuse can. And really, neglect is a form of abuse.
Physical Neglect
Physical neglect is usually what people think of when they hear the word “neglect”. It occurs when a child’s basic physical needs repeatedly go unmet.
Examples of Physical Neglect
Failure to provide adequate food, water, clothing, supervision, and healthcare
Intentionally withholding food, water, clothing, shelter, or other necessities
Leaving or forcing the child to be outside in bad weather
Failing to provide for the child’s safety or physical needs
Reckless disregard for the child’s safety and welfare
Medical Neglect and Examples
Medical neglect is a form of physical neglect. It is the failure to provide proper healthcare for a child even when financially able to do so.
Failure to seek necessary medical, dental, or psychiatric care for the child
Failure to comply with medical treatment for the child
Withholding medical care with the intent to cause harm or even death
Supervisory Neglect and Examples
Another form of physical neglect is supervisory neglect. It’s when the adult responsible for the child fails to supervise or provide proper supervision to keep the child from harm.
Repeatedly leaving the child in the custody of others for days or weeks at a time
Failing to supervise a child around weapons or other dangerous circumstances
Leaving the child with an unfit or impaired caregiver
Abandoning the child without arranging for reasonable care or supervision
Environmental Neglect and Examples
Last but not least, environmental neglect is also a form of physical neglect. It occurs when a child’s home environment is unsanitary and unsafe.
Exposure of the child to hazards such as smoking, guns and other weapons, and lack of car safety restraints
Exposure of the child to unsanitary conditions such as infestations of pests and rotting food
Educational Neglect
Educational neglect occurs when a child isn’t given access to education or when the child is excessively absent from school.
Examples of Educational Neglect
Failing to enroll the child in school and failing to homeschool
Making the child stay home from school without reasonable cause
Allowing excessive absences from school when the child is of mandatory school age
Refusing or failing to allow recommended remedial or special education services
Refusing or failing to follow through with treatment for a diagnosed learning disorder
Emotional Neglect
Emotional neglect occurs when a child’s emotional needs aren’t being met. It is when the caregiver is not giving the child the love, care, affection, and attention the child needs to healthily develop.
Many forms of emotional neglect are also forms of emotional abuse.
Emotional neglect is usually more difficult to identify than other types of neglect. It is thought to be more severe than other types. However, it does often occur with other types of neglect or abuse, which may be easier to notice.
Examples of Emotional Neglect
Persistent indifference to the child’s need for attention, affection, or emotional support
Exposing the child to domestic abuse
Allowing abuse or violence to happen to the child without intervening
Humiliating, mocking, teasing
Rejecting, ignoring, excluding, isolating
Terrorizing, intimidating
Withholding love, comfort, affection, and emotional support
Verbal abuse
Conclusion
Once again, abuse and neglect can leave long-lasting damaging effects on an individual that can last a lifetime, especially when it happened in their childhood.
How long and how damaging these effects are depend on a few things:
The victim’s age when the abuse or neglect started
The type of abuse or neglect the victim went through
The frequency and duration of the abuse or neglect
Abusive parents rarely only engage in one type of abuse or neglect. So if you were abused or neglected as a child, you likely experienced many different types of abuse or neglect listed in this post at one point or another, if not all of them.
Whether you went through these types of abuse and neglect as a child or you’re going through them now, I hope you can begin healing.
Begin your healing journey
As I said earlier, accepting that you did experience abuse is the first step toward healing.
It’s also important to realize that abuse can happen anywhere in any relationship with anyone. So it’s important to assess your relationships. Make sure no one is being abusive towards you and that you’re not being abusive toward others. Remember, healthy relationships are NOT abusive.
Do NOT let anyone convince you that it’s okay or normal that you’re facing or have faced abuse or neglect, especially if it’s coming from the abusive person. It is NOT okay.
And if you notice yourself displaying abusive or neglectful behaviors, please start healing from your childhood. Displaying abusive behavior doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an abuser. But it’s still crucial that you try to stop it so you won’t hurt your loved ones. Do NOT follow in the abuser’s footsteps.
If you went through abuse and/or feel like you’re being abusive, consider seeking therapy. You can connect with a certified therapist here. A professional can help you process your experiences and guide you toward healing.
Hi there, I’m Estee. My own experiences with an abusive mother inspired me to create Hopeful Panda. You can learn more about me and my blog here.
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