What is abuse?

Abuse is mistreatment by any other person or persons that violates a person's human and civil rights. The abuse can vary from treating someone with disrespect in a way which significantly affects the person's quality of life, to causing actual physical suffering.

The Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 states that:

  • “abuse” means physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial abuse taking place in any setting, whether in a private dwelling, an institution or any other place
  • “neglect” means a failure to meet a person’s basic physical, emotional, social or psychological needs, which is likely to result in an impairment of the person’s well-being.

Abuse can take on many forms, the most prevalent of which are listed below:

Categories of abuse

Find out about the 5 categories of abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect as cited within the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014

County lines

County lines is a major, cross-cutting issue involving drugs, violence, gangs, safeguarding, criminal and sexual exploitation, modern slavery, and missing persons

Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM is illegal in the UK

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is the use of control by one person over another in an intimate or close family relationship; the abuse can be sexual, physical, financial, emotional or psychological

Forced marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. Forced marriages happen in many religions and nationalities and it doesn't just affect girls - boys can also be forced into marriage

Hate crime

Hate crime is violence or hostility directed at people because of who they are or who someone thinks they are - e.g. you may have been verbally abused by someone in the street because you're disabled or someone thought you were gay

Honour based violence

Honour based violence (HBV) is a violent crime or incident which may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family or community. It is often linked to family members or acquaintances who believe someone has brought shame to their family or community by doing something that is not in keeping with the traditional beliefs of their culture

Modern day slavery and human trafficking

Modern slavery is a serious and brutal crime in which people are treated as commodities and exploited for criminal gain. It includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced and compulsory labour. Exploitation takes a number of forms, including sexual exploitation, forced manual labour and domestic servitude, and victims come from all walks of life

Self harm and thoughts of suicide

If you are worried about a person who may be self-harming or thinking or talking about suicide, the links on this page provide a range of information which can help you.

Professional abuse

Experience shows that people can be victims of abuse and exploitation by those who work with them in any context. Click here for more information