Different Types Of Abuse

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Indicators of abuse.
Factors that may lead to abuse.

Physical:

To cause physical pain and injury to another person, making them physically suffer from harm. Signs for physical abuse would be quite easy to spot as you can look for marks on people such as bruising, bite marks, burn marks or even fractures. Another indicator could be that the marks on their body are repetitive say for example they have bruising on their body and then a couple of weeks later they have more bruises on their body, this could be an indicator for physical abuse.

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Behavioural indicators could be that they cannot remember how the injuries occurred and makes up an excuse. They could also flinch if someone approached them unexpectedly. Poor memory and concentration levels could be a behavioural sign. Factors that could lead to physical abuse being an issue could be from care givers that have inability to cope with stress on adults and their behaviours, they could themselves suffer with depression which is a common thing amongst care givers and then they could take their depression and anger out on adults who are vulnerable, lack of support from other care workers could lead to physical abuse.

Lack of staff training could be the factor that leads to physical abuse. Sexual: any sort of non-consensual contact, touching vulnerable people in not appropriate areas and without their consent. Possible indicators for sexual abuse could be loss of sleep. Also bruising or soreness around the genitals, there could be indicators of torn, stained or blood in the underwear and there could be possible signs of sexually transmitted diseases in some cases.

Even pregnancy could be an indicator to sexual abuse. Behavioural indicators could be flinching or not wanting to do personal care. There could be extreme changes in behaviour, bed wetting or frequent bathing to try and remove stains or to try and make themselves feel cleaner. Another indicator could be refusal to disrobe clothes for bedtime or showers whilst in front of people they would normally trust and who they are familiar with. Risk factors that could lead to sexual abuse could be things such as alcohol or drug use as the person giving the abuse would not know what they are doing as the drugs and alcohol in their body would be controlling them in a way which could lead to sexual abuse.

Coercive sexual fantasies of a staff member or even friend or family in some cases, which could lead to the abuse. Impulsive and antisocial tendencies, preference for impersonal sex, there could be a childhood history of sexual and physical abuse and then they may want to push that onto someone else or could have been witnessed family violence as a child and may think it is acceptable to do certain things. Emotional: Any act including confinement, isolation, humiliation, intimidation or treatment when diminishes a sense of somebody’s identity and dignity. Possible indicators of emotional abuse could be bedwetting or diarrhoea, frequent headaches, nausea, abdominal pains. Behavioural indicators would be something like mental or emotional development lags, poor relationships with people. Runaway attempts, complains of social isolation or severe depression that could be suicidal. Factors that could lead to emotional abuse from someone who has a low self-esteem themselves and would like to emotionally beat someone down to make themselves feel better, or the person giving the abuse could have suffered from emotional abuse in their childhood and feel that they got treated a certain way so they want to pass this on to someone else.

Factors could also lead to a group of staff members for example and they are all emotionally abusing a service user which they could find amusing but it is actually classed as abuse. Neglect: a passive form of abuse which is leaving the victim who maybe is unable to care for himself or herself but cannot provide care for themselves. You could see neglect by having poor physical conditions, bed sores. The carers normally don’t take care of the service user. Inadequate food supply or water that is not available. Skin rashes related to the bedding being unchanged and urine soaked in the bed. Inadequate living conditions, no toilet or commode. Behavioural indicators could be fear or withdrawal, depression, implausible stories, anger, denial and anxiety. Reasons someone could suffer from neglect could be things such as ignorance or denial that an adult needs as much care as they do. The abuse can be intentional or unintentional. The person in charge of care could have mental health problems or problems from their home life and take this into work and not be interested in caring for adult and therefore neglecting them and their needs.

Exploitation/financial: Telling someone what they can and cannot buy or making them share control of their bank account and the person does not have control over their money. Signs of financial abuse could be if a person who had a disability is accompanied by family or a staff member who appear to pressure the individual to make a transaction. People accompanying an individual to speak for him or her and not allow the individual to speak for themselves. An indicator could be a sudden increase in checking overdrafts or unusually large cash withdrawals or to transfer to other accounts from a joint bank account. Someone else could sign or forge an individual’s signature. Another indicator could be not allowing an individual to discuss legal or financial issues or matters with others. Indicator could be a staff member or family member taking money from the individual without telling them and leaving them with nothing and leading them on saying they have more money than they really do, or taking control of their money and managing their money and tell them what they can and cannot spend money on. Unexplained inability to pay for bills such as shopping bills or house bills could be a sign of abuse.

Staff members may not record when service users receive their money so they could take advantage of their money without consent of the service user. By not keeping records of what the service users money goes on it is easy to lose track and the amount of money been spent. A staff member could be short of money with their personal issues and use a service user’s money without anyone knowing and because stuff is not being recorded it can be hard to spot money being taken. Self-harm: there is self-harm, deliberate self-harm, self-injury and self-poisoning which are mostly done without suicidal intentions but just a relief maybe for some. Self-harm is causing deliberate harm to your own body like cutting or burning your skin, pulling your own hair out. Self-harm behaviour includes acts that can cause short and also long term damage for example under eating or binge drinking and drug abuse. Any of these signs could be from self-harm, unexplained cuts, bruises or cigarette burns usually are around the wrists, thighs and arms. Signs of depression such as low mood, crying a lot and no motivation.

Signs of low self-esteem such as them blaming themselves for any problems and thinking that they are not good enough for something. Signs of misuse of drugs or alcohol and been pulling their hair out. Factors that could lead someone to self-harm could be down to family problems at home, relationship problems, if they are not doing well in education and then start to doubt themselves feeling like they are not good enough and feel like self-harm is the only release. Being bullied could be a factor for self-harm. Also drug or alcohol abuse. Another factor is that you could be coming to terms with your sexuality and be unhappy to maybe tell people what your sexuality is. Coping with cultural expectations such as arranged marriage could lead to self-harming. Institutional: maltreatment of a person from someone who has power over the victim. Institutional abuse is about who abuses and how that abuse comes to pass. An indicator could be no flexibility in bed time routine or people left on a commode or a toilet for a long period of time for no reason. Inappropriate care of living area or possessions.

Lack of personal clothes or belonging. Deprived environmental conditions and lack of stimulation. Service user could be removed from the home without discussion with other staff members because the staff cannot deal with the service user’s behaviours. Another indicator could be spoken to and treated with disrespect. Lack of individual programmes that would monitor their daily life and behaviours. Factors that could lead to institutional abuse could be down to the environment and the surrounding as it could be the environment out of a home setting and what they are used to, it can determine the potential for maltreatment. Maltreatment mostly happens when the adult may be in a crisis and the caregiver has not got the skills and developed alternative and appropriate response to the service user.

Discriminatory: when someone picks on you and treats you differently and unfairly just because something is different about you whether it is your race, sexuality, religion or appearance. Indicators could be that the person being abused is withdrawn and isolates themselves away from other people, fearfulness and anxiety, loss of self-esteem, being refuse to be able to access services and excluded to other people, resistance or refusal to access services that are required to meet the needs. Types of abuse for discrimination would include things such a sex, race, colour, language, culture, religion, politics and sexual orientation. Factors that could lead to discriminatory abuse could be that the care giver does not agree with someone’s religion or sexuality for example, if a service user were gay there caregiver could exclude them from everything and not provide the correct care for them because they do not agree with same sex relationships which would be classes as discriminatory abuse.

The risk factor is greater when the service user or vulnerable adult has a difficulty to communicate with others, always rejecting help from staff member, often has an unusual and offensive behaviour or aggressive because of these issues staff members may not be able to cope and may no0t have the patients or correct training to resolve these issues which can then lead to abuse. Domestic: The abuse of a partner with an intimate or family member, the abuse is repeated and random. The abuse can be physical, emotional, psychological, financial or sexual. May show the signs of bruises, burns, human bite marks, and fractures round the eyes, nose, teeth and jaw, injuries during pregnancy such as miscarriage or premature birth. Stress related illnesses such as headaches, backaches, chronic pain, family problems, depression, alcohol or drug addictions, absenteeism like lateness or leaving early, changes in job performance.

Overly dressed like wearing turtle necks and long sleeves in the summer to cover up any physical marks, jumpy and lack of personal grooming or low self-esteem. Factors that can lead to domestic abuse may be alcohol or drug related so that the drugs and alcohol inside their bodies are controlling them and they may not realise what they are really doing. The abuser could have an unknown mental health or personality problem. They could also suffer from bipolar and have random outbursts of aggressiveness. A history of violence or abuse that includes domestic abuse from previous relationship problems. Poor family relationships where violence is a normal thing and not really a big issue, financial problems because of low income or debt problems could all be factors of domestic abuse.

Bullying: Has an advantage of strength or to intimidate someone and typically force someone to do something. Indicators for bullying could be that the person seems unhappy or depressed, not wanting to talk to people much and distancing themselves away from other people. Not socialising with other people. They could cry a lot but may not want to talk about it to anyone or make up an excuse. Factors that could lead to bullying could be for example a leader or person in charge could feel because they have more power that they can intimidate people into doing things and pressure people. If the victims are vulnerable and an easy target to staff member that are bullying them. Groups of staff members thinking it is amusing to bullying service users, which they could find amusing but actually be bullying, intentionally or unintentional.

I chose Simone from Winterbourne view for my case study. She was one of man6y residents what suffered multiple abuses from Winterbourne view which was exposed by Panorama. Her family want her close to her, but she is currently hundreds of miles away from her family. Simone’s parents’ notice that she was a little bit behind other children at nursery and then eventually found out it was because she suffered from a learning disability. Simone suffered from chronic headaches which became very distressing and then her behaviour began to chance and was much more challenging and harder to deal with. She then went to hospital to have it investigated. Simone suffered from physical and emotional abuse. Wayne the carer would physically abuse Simone by putting her hand under a chair and bending her arm which would cause bruising. She had water thrown over her face and left outside to freeze, this would affect her emotionally as it would make her sad and want to isolate herself from any of the staff members as she probably felt she couldn’t go to anyone for advice or tell someone about what is happening to her and the abuse she was receiving because the staff members were all in on it as well.

As Wayne were the leader all the other members of staff may have been intimidated In some sort of way by him which lead them to copy and imitate what he did to service users like Simone. From the physical abuse by her bruising and marks on her skin, her parents didn’t realise as they only really spoke to her over the phone to check up on her and to see if she was okay, so they were unaware of the abuse that what going on. She was suffering from emotional abuse as well because she has already experienced some form of abuse when she was in a unit before and then had to be removed from that unit into a second unit where she still received abuse from. This would affect her health by her maybe not wanting to live and not to get involved with other people because she feels she cannot trust anyone around her.

Long term effects by being pinned to the ground all the time and then it could have made her body or bones be in a certain position which could lead to joint damage or scars on her body. She could also flinch when people approach her even the people she trusts. Simone could be distressed behaviour in the long term by Simone being trapped in uncomfortable position. Although she had negative long term effects for life there are also positive such as being moved to another unit, even though she is hundreds of miles away from her family, they know and believe that she is now in a safe place, free from abuse and enjoying herself. Another long term effect could lead to depression and then she would isolate herself in any activities and interaction with other people even those close to her. https://www.mencap.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/take-action/out-sight/simones-story