Abuse
Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other types of aggression. Some sources describe abuse as "socially constructed", which means there may be more or less recognition of the suffering of a victim at different times and societies.Types and contexts of abuse
Abuse of authority includes harassment, interference, pressure, and inappropriate requests or favors.Abuse of corpse
involves possessing a physical attraction to dead bodies that may led to acting upon sexual urges. As corpses are dead and cannot give consent, any manipulation, removal of parts, mutilation, or sexual acts performed on a dead body is considered abuse.Abuse of discretion
An abuse of discretion is a failure to take into proper consideration, the facts and laws relating to a particular matter; an arbitrary or unreasonable departure from precedent and settled judicial custom.Abuse of dominance
Market dominance by companies is regulated by public and private enforcement of competition law, also known as antitrust or anti-monopoly law. These laws stop companies from doing things that hurt customers or block fair competition. For example, Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits companies in a dominant market position from abusing their power, such as through unfair pricing, limiting production, or refusing to deal with others.Abuse of indulgences
In the Catholic Church, an indulgence is a way to reduce punishment for sin, often by prayer, pilgrimage or good works. In the Middle Ages, some Church officials demanded money in exchange both for forgiveness of sins and for other rewards such as future salvation.Abuse of information
Abuse of information typically involves a breach of confidence or plagiarism, or extending the confidence of information beyond those authorised.
In the financial world, Insider trading can also be considered a misuse of internal information that gives an unfair advantage in investment.Abuse of power, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official misconduct", is the commission of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a for cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election.Abuse of process
A cause of action in tort arising from one party making a malicious and deliberate misuse or perversion of regularly issued court process not justified by the underlying legal action.Abuse of rank
Rankism is treating people of a lower rank in an abusive, discriminatory, or exploitative way. Robert W. Fuller claims that rankism includes the abuse of the power inherent in superior rank, with the view that rank-based abuse underlies many other phenomena such as bullying, racism, sexism, and homophobia.Abuse of statistics
Abuse of trust
Abusive supervision
Abusive supervision is most commonly studied in the context of the workplace, although can arise in other areas such as in the household and at school. "Abusive supervision has been investigated as an antecedent to negative subordinate workplace outcome". "Workplace violence has combination of situational and personal factors". The study that was conducted looked at the link between abusive supervision and different workplace events.Academic abuse
Academic abuse is a form of workplace bullying which takes place in institutions of higher education, such as colleges and universities. Academia is highly competitive and has a well defined hierarchy, with junior staff being particularly vulnerable.Adolescent abuse
Adult abuse
Adult abuse refers to the abuse of vulnerable adults.Alcohol use disorder, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite its negative consequences. Alcohol use disorder is sometimes referred to by the less specific term alcoholism. There are two types of people with alcohol use disorder: those who have anti-social and pleasure-seeking tendencies, and those who are anxiety-ridden- people who are able to go without drinking for long periods of time but are unable to control themselves once they start. Binge drinking is another form of alcohol use disorder. Frequent binge drinking or getting severely drunk more than twice is classed as alcohol misuse. According to research done through international surveys, the heaviest drinkers happen to be the United Kingdom's adolescent generation.Animal abuse
Animal abuse is the infliction of suffering or harm upon animals, other than humans, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for fur. Diverging viewpoints are held by jurisdictions throughout the world.Anti-social behavior
Anti-social behavior is often seen as public behavior that lacks judgement and consideration for others and may damage them or their property. It may be intentional, as with vandalism or graffiti, or the result of negligence. Persistent anti-social behavior may be a manifestation of an antisocial personality disorder. The counterpart of anti-social behavior is pro-social behavior, namely any behavior intended to help or benefit another person, group or society.Bullying
Bullying is repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group attacking those who are less powerful. Bullying may consist of three basic types of abuse – verbal, physical and emotional. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways. Although the UK currently has no legal definition of bullying, some US states have laws against it. Bullying is usually done to coerce others by fear or threat.Character assassination
Character assassination is an attempt to tarnish a person's reputation. It may involve exaggeration or manipulation of facts to present an untrue picture of the targeted person. It is a form of defamation and can be a form of an ad hominem argument.Child abuse is the physical or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organisations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation. Different forms of this include: asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities, some types of indecent exposure of genitalia to a child, displaying pornography to a child, actual sexual contact against a child, viewing or engaging in physical contact with the child's genitals for sexual purposes, or using a child to produce child pornography.Child-on-child sexual abuse refers to a form of child sexual abuse in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more other children or adolescent youths, and in which no adult is directly involved. This includes sexual activity between children that occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion; particularly when physical force, threats, trickery, or emotional manipulation are used to elicit co-operation.Civil rights abuse
Clandestine abuse
Clandestine abuse is sexual, psychological, or physical abuse "that is kept secret for a purpose, concealed, or underhanded."Clerical abuse
Cyber abuse or cyber bullying
Cyberbullying "involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others." - Bill Belsey.Dating abuse or dating violence
Dating abuse is a pattern of abusive behaviour exhibited by one or both partners in a dating relationship. The behaviour may include, but is not limited to: physical abuse; psychological abuse; and sexual abuse.Defamation
Defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. It is usually – but not always, a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication be communicated to someone other than the person defamed.Disability abuse
It has been noted that disabled people are disproportionately affected by disability abuse and bullying, and such activity has been cited as a hate crime. The bullying is not limited to those who are visibly disabled – such as wheelchair-users or individuals with physical differences – but also those with learning disabilities, autism or developmental coordination disorder. In the latter case, this is linked to a poor ability in physical education, and this behaviour can be encouraged by an ignorant physical education teacher. Abuse of disabled people is not limited to schools; there are many known cases in which disabled people have been abused by staff of a "care institution", such as the case revealed in a BBC Panorama programme on a Castlebeck care home near Bristol, leading to its closure and suspension or firing of staff members.