What is Abuse?

How far should abuse go before it becomes a crime? Are children protected enough? Read about the different types of abuse and the possible penalties.

As a legal term, abuse applies to the maltreatment of a person as well as a thing or an idea. If the abusive action is considered harmful and/or unlawful it is generally regarded as a crime.

Abuse can be obvious or concealed. It may apply to something as basic as destroying equipment by incorrect use or as severe as mistreating a person.

In the US legal system, one factor that indicates an abusive act is the matter of power. How much power does the abuser have over the alleged victim/s? It must be determined if the alleged victim/s could have immediately defended themselves against threats and harm.

Abuse - Recent Incidents

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that while the number of adult substance abuse violators has increased in recent years, that of juvenile violators has stabilized.

In general, although the percentage of reported crimes has increased in the last decade, crimes of abuse have been on the decline from 1995 to the present day.

Be that as it may, there’s still the great danger that many cases of abuse slip through the cracks due to plain neglect. This is especially true when the victim is helpless to report the incident as in the case of children and the elderly.

One recent case in Milwaukee involved the death by suffocation of a 19-month-old toddler, even as welfare workers were already repeatedly informed of prior abuse. The reason: The welfare workers simply didn’t talk to each other! 

After the incident, the county health chief ordered a speedy review of all cases of multiple reports, especially for children age six or younger.

Abuse Types & Penalties 

There are at least a dozen classifications of abuse in the American criminal justice system.

1. Spiritual – Aberrational practices associated with cults or religious groups
2. Sexual – Forced maltreatment of an individual for purposes of sex
3. Physical – Inflicting pain or physical violence
4. Verbal – Threats, profanity, and demeaning statements
5. Emotional/Psychological – Using emotional/psychological means to force, manipulate, or inflict harm on a person
6. Substance – Typically relates to drug or alcohol addiction (Note: US law enforcers often refer to ANY use of illegal drugs as abuse — regardless of its actual harm to the user or another person.)
7. Child – Emotional, physical, sexual abuse of a child
8. Spousal – Also called domestic violence, this refers to physical or emotional/psychological abuse of a spouse
9. Elder – Threats, neglect, physical violence against an elderly person
10. Human Rights – Any action that violates human rights
11. Animal – Cruelty or neglect of animals
12. Legal – Malicious litigation or using the US legal system for coercion, revenge, or to harm an individual emotionally or financially

There is also abuse of technology like the Internet, which has its own set of laws. Online abuse can range from inappropriate behavior to intrusive hacking.

Although penalties vary, the US justice system tends to mete out harsher punishments (e.g., sentences are 25% longer) when the victims of abuse are children. Most crimes of abuse carry jail or prison time.

In cases involving some monetary gain by the abuser, judges normally order that monetary restitution be made to the victim. However, damages can also be awarded in other cases brought before the civil courts.

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