Safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm - 6. Types of abuse

6.1  There are many different categories of abuse, which include:

Adults (Care Act 2014):  

• Physical
• Sexual
• Emotional / psychological
• Neglect and acts of omission
• Domestic abuse – including controlling and coercive behaviour
• Financial / material
• Modern day slavery and human trafficking
• Discriminatory
• Self-neglect (and hoarding)
• Organisational. 

Children (Working Together to Safeguarding Children Guidance):

• Physical
• Sexual
• Emotional
• Neglect
• Domestic abuse – including controlling and coercive behaviour
• Sexual exploitation
• Child criminal exploitation
• Trafficking
• Online abuse
• Radicalisation.  

6.2  Additional types of abuse that may be experienced by adults and/or children:

• Hate crime
• Female genital mutilation
• Forced marriages
• Honour based abuse
• Bullying and cyber bullying
• Cuckooing
• Grooming.

6.3  Physical abuse (child and adult):

A form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm. Physical abuse can be a deliberate act or can be caused by omission or a failure to protect.

6.4  Sexual abuse (child and adult)

Involves forcing or enticing a child, young person or adult experiencing or at risk from abuse or neglect, to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child or adult is aware of what is happening. This can include non-contact activities such as involving children and young people in looking at or in the production of pornography.

6.5  Emotional abuse (child and adult)

The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child or adult such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on their emotional development.

6.6  Neglect (child)

The ongoing failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, which is likely to result in the serious impairment of their health or development.

6.7  Neglect and acts of omission (adult)

Neglect for an adult only applies when the adult lacks mental capacity and is reliant on someone else to carry out activities. Neglect occurs when the individual responsible for carrying out those activities persistently fails to do so.

6.8  Domestic abuse (child and adult)

An incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse by someone who is or has been an intimate partner or family member, regardless of gender or sexuality.

Children are also recognised as victims of domestic abuse. Being exposed to domestic abuse has serious consequences for children and young people; and it can affect how they feel, think, and behave in harmful ways.

Norwich City Council has made a FLOURISH pledge which is that we will prioritise the safety and welfare of children and young people whenever we are aware of domestic abuse and work closely with other agencies enabling children to access early support. Flourish - Norfolk County Council.

The council is also working towards Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance Accreditation which will help us ensure we provide an appropriate response and support for residents and our staff experiencing domestic abuse. Domestic Abuse Policy for Residents.

6.9  Financial or material abuse (adult)

The unauthorised, fraudulent obtaining and improper use of funds, property or any resources from an adult experiencing or at risk from abuse or neglect.

6.10  Sexual exploitation (child)

Sexual exploitation is a subset of sexual abuse which involves exploitative situations and relationships where people receive ‘something’ (e.g. accommodation, alcohol, affection, money, gifts, cigarettes, drugs) as a result of them performing, or others performing on them, sexual activities. In all cases, those exploiting children have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and economic or other resources. Many of these factors are also the same for adults experiencing or at risk from abuse or neglect.

6.11  Modern slavery and human trafficking (adult)

Encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced labour, forced criminality and domestic servitude where the threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, abuse of power or deception are exploited for the purposes of prostitution, forced labour, slavery or other similar practices.

6.12  Trafficking (child)

The action or practice of illegally procuring and relocating children, typically for the purposes of forced labour or sexual exploitation.

6.13  Child criminal exploitation (child)

Involves individuals being forced to work under the control of highly organised criminals in activities such as forced begging, shoplifting, and pickpocketing, cannabis cultivation, drug dealing and financial exploitation.

6.14  Discriminatory abuse (adult)

Discriminatory abuse exists when values, beliefs or culture result in a misuse of power that denies mainstream opportunities to some groups or individuals.

6.15  Self-neglect (adult)

Persistent inattention to personal hygiene and/or environment, repeated refusal of services that would improve their quality of life and causing self-endangerment through unsafe behaviours.

6.16  Hoarding (adult, but would have potentially negative effects on any child in the same environment)

Hoarding is a standalone mental illness, although it can also be a symptom of other mental disorders. There are three categories of hoarding: inanimate objects, animal hoarding and data. This becomes a safeguarding issue when there are significant risks of harm to the person and /or their property and/or other people.  

6.17  Online (child)

Any type of abuse that happens on the internet. It can happen across any device that's connected to the web, like computers, tablets and mobile phones. And it can happen anywhere online.

6.18  Organisational abuse (adult)

Organisational abuse occurs where the culture of the organisation places emphasis on the running of the establishment and the needs of the staff above the needs and care of the child, young person or adult at risk.

6.19  Radicalisation (child and adult)

The process where a child or adult, often from a vulnerable background, starts to adopt extreme social, political or religious views and engage in extremist activities. Any concerns about individuals and radicalisation should be referred to a safeguarding champion or the Anti-Social Behaviour team.  

6.20  Hate crime (adults)

Any crime that is motivated by hostility on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

6.21  Female genital mutilation (FGM) (adults and children)

The collective term for procedures, which includes the removal of part or all of the external female genitalia for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.

6.22  Forced marriage (adults and children)

Where one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage and there is some element of coercion involved. This is not the same as arranged marriages where the couple can choose to accept or decline the arrangement. Any marriage under the age of 18 is a child protection issue as the child is at significant risk of harm through physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

6.23  Honour based abuse (adults and children)

A crime or incident which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or community.

6.24  Bullying and cyber bullying (adults and children)

Behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.

6.25  Cuckooing (adults)

A practice where people take over a person’s home and use the property to facilitate exploitation. It takes the name from cuckoos who take over the nests of other birds. The most common form of cuckooing is where drug dealers take over a person’s home and use it to store or distribute drugs. Cuckooing - Norwich City Council

6.26  Grooming (adults and children)

Grooming is where someone builds a relationship with a child or adult and/or their family to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation. 

Groomers do this by:

• pretending to be someone they are not, for example, by saying they are the same age online.
• offering advice or understanding.
• buying gifts.
• giving the person experiencing or at risk from abuse or neglect a heightened level attention.
• using their professional position or reputation.
• taking them on trips, outings or holidays.

6.27  County Lines (adults and children)

County Lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line’. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money, and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.

6.28 In addition to the different categories of abuse listed, other potential safeguarding situations include:

• Abuse by another adult experiencing, or at risk from, abuse or neglect 
  Where the person causing the harm is also an adult experiencing or at risk from abuse or neglect, the safety of the person who may have been abused is paramount. 
   
• Missing children 
  Norfolk Children’s Services regard a child as ‘missing’ when the person responsible for them does not know where they are. Children who are most vulnerable to going missing from care and home include those missing from school, looked after children and asylum-seeking children.
  
  When a child goes missing from care or home, they could be at risk of significant harm through physical or sexual abuse.
   
• Private fostering 
  This is where a child under the age of 16 (or 18 if disabled) is cared for by someone who is not their parent or a close relative. This is a private arrangement made between a parent and carer for 28 days or more.
  
  In many cases, the child is also looked after away from a familiar environment in terms of region or country. Private foster carers and those with parental responsibility are required to notify the local authority by law of their intention to privately foster or to have a child privately fostered.
   
• Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children 
  These are children under the age of 18 years who are seeking asylum, but not living with their parents, relatives or guardians in the UK. Most come from countries which are in a state of chaos, including war and endemic violence.
  
  Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) require a broad package of support and should be referred to children’s social care in order to establish the council’s duties to support them.
   
• Young carers 
  Young carers are children and young people under 18 who look after someone in their family affected by illness, disability, mental health or substance misuse. The young person takes on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult.
  
  Young carers are particularly vulnerable because their caring responsibilities can significantly impact upon a child’s health and development.