The 9 types of abuse and their characteristics

Suffering abuse is one of the worst experiences that a human being can go through, because the victims of these acts can not only suffer consequences on a physical level, but also the psychological consequences for them can be devastating and last a long time, even a lifetime.

Unfortunately, abuse can appear in different situations, with a partner, at work, at school, etc. In this article We will delve into the different types of abuse and review their characteristics.

Profile of the abuser

The person who suffers the abuse can be scarred for life. But, What is an abuser like? What characteristic features define it? In many cases, these types of people suffer psychological problems, some have grown up in poorly structured families and in environments conducive to developing this type of personality.

Abusers tend to be intolerant, authoritarian, psychologically inflexible, aggressive, cruel, and insensitive people. But, what stands out the most about this type of person is that they tend to be pleasant at first, they are blackmailers and they are easily offended.

If you want to know more about how abusive individuals are, visit our article: “Profile of the psychological abuser: 21 traits in common”.

What types of abuse are there and what are their characteristics

There are different types of abuse, but. which are?

Below you can find a list with the definition and characteristics of the different types of abuse.

1. Physical abuse

Physical abuse is a type of abuse in which there is more than just words, that is, there is physical violence. Therefore, this mistreatment usually produces a physical injury, the product of a single or repeated punishment, which can vary in its magnitude or intensity.

The most common forms of physical abuse are:

• Scratching, hitting, biting, strangling, or kicking
• Throwing an object at a person: a telephone, a book, a shoe or a plate.
• Pull hair
• Pushing, pulling or shaking
• Grab clothes
• Grab to prevent the victim from leaving

2. Verbal, emotional or psychological abuse

In the psychological abuse there is no physical contact, however, the aftermath can be more lasting than those produced by pushing, hitting or pulling the hair. It can appear along with physical abuse, and is characterized by being a type of emotional violence in which these behaviors are used, among others:

• Insults, yelling, emotional blackmail and manipulation
• Control of the victim's telephones, hours and friends on social networks
• Constant criticism
• Acts to embarrass in public
• Prevent the victim from talking to family members
• Tell you what to do and wear
• Damaging objects owned by the abused person. For example, throwing your phone against the wall
• Threatening to harm the victim, her child, family, or pet without doing so
• Threatening that he will take his son

3. Child abuse

Child abuse can be of different types, for example, physical or psychological. Its main characteristic is that the person who is a victim of this type of abuse is a boy or girl, someone in a vital stage in which they are especially vulnerable.

At these ages, the aftermath can last a lifetime, although its severity varies greatly. One of the most favorable psychological phenomena are problems of low self-esteem and avoidant attachment.

4. Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse is one of the worst forms of abuse, because the aftermath of these intimate acts may never go away. Abuse of this type can be in two ways: either by exercising this type of violence directly on the victim or through sexual exploitation.

This type of abuse can manifest itself not only with very violent contact, but also kisses, caresses, touches and even words with intimate content are classified as behaviors of this kind of abuse. The psychological impact that it can generate varies depending on the nature of the aggression and certain personality attributes of the person attacked.

5. Bullying

Bullying is a term of Anglo-Saxon origin that enjoys great popularity today. It refers to both the physical and psychological abuse that occurs in the school environment. The vulnerability of people who suffer from bullying and the pain they feel is so great that they can commit suicide in the more extreme cases, since the boy or girl, in addition, has the obligation to constantly go to school, exposing themselves to mistreatment.

• You can know the different kinds of this phenomenon in this post: "The 5 types of bullying or bullying"

6. Mobbing

Mobbing is a phenomenon practically identical to bullying, with the difference that occurs in the workplace. This causes serious problems for the victim, who is forced to go to work and suffer all kinds of abuse and belittling that can undermine her self-esteem.

Many times, mobbing is aimed at forcing a resignation from work, since the dismissal of the abused person would cause problems with the law. In other cases, it may be motivated by problems of competitiveness and envy associated with an environment based on individualism.

If you want to delve into this topic, you can read our article: "The 6 types of mobbing or workplace harassment"

7. Digital abuse or cyberbullying

A modern form of abuse is cyberbullying. This type of abuse is more frequent in adolescence and is characterized by takes place through the digital world and on social media. Cyberbullying can manifest itself as follows:

• The abuser sends negative, insulting, or even threatening emails to the victim. It also sends this type of message on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
• You use the abused person's account without permission. For example, making updates to your Facebook status
• Puts the victim in their status updates, trying to discredit them
• Sends you unwanted images digitally
• It threatens to publish and disseminate things that can compromise your privacy in the 2.0 world.

8. Institutional abuse

Not only can people abuse other individuals, but they Institutions, both public and private, can, through laws, regulations, procedures or actions, cause abuse, neglect and discomfort to individuals or groups of individuals.

9. Economic abuse

Mistreatment or abuse is a pattern of behavior used to gain and maintain power and control.l, and it can be produced in many ways. One of them is economic abuse, which can occur with any individual, but mostly with a partner or an elderly person. For example, within the couple, when one of the two members spends the other member's money or makes it impossible for him to make use of his own purchasing power.