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Abuse

What constitutes "child abuse?"

In California, a child is any person under the age of 18. Child abuse includes sexual abuse, neglect, or willful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment of a child. Sexual abuse means sexual assault or sexual exploitation. Neglect means the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for a child's welfare. Child abuse includes a physical injury that is inflicted by other than accidental means. The latter includes any situation where any person willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or permits the health of the child to be placed in a situation such that his or her person or health is endangered. In addition, child abuse includes a situation where any person willfully inflicts upon a child any cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or injury resulting in a traumatic condition.

What constitutes abuse of an elder or dependent adult?

In California, an elder is anyone residing in the State of California who is 65 years of age or older. A dependent adult means any person residing in the State of California, between the ages of 18 and 64 years, who has physical or mental limitations that restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his or her rights. Abuse of an elder or dependent adult includes physical abuse, abandonment, isolation, financial abuse, neglect, abduction, or other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering, or the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or suffering.

What other behavior is considered to be abusive?

Abuse includes verbal abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse, and such abuse may be directed at anyone. Verbal abuse includes attacks on the nature and abilities of another person, and includes angry outbursts that include cursing, insulting, or name-calling, as well as subtle disparagement in the form of "reasonable" blaming and criticizing. Verbal abuse may also involve criticizing the person, rather than the behavior of the person, verbally coercing, threatening, or intimidating the person. Physical abuse includes aggressive behaviors such as pushing, shoving, hitting, holding, pinching, slapping, grabbing, kicking, burning, biting, punching, blocking another's way, or hitting another with an object. Destroying property or harming pets is also physical abuse. Physically aggressive behavior can result in injury or even death to the person being abused. Emotional or psychological abuse involves any behavior that intimidates, frightens, terrorizes, denigrates, devalues, invalidates, or causes psychic pain to the target of the abuse.

Dr. Joyce Nash, PhD    (650) 329-1000