Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

(1) Service users must be protected from abuse and improper treatment in accordance with this regulation.

(2) Systems and processes must be established and operated effectively to prevent abuse of service users.

(3) Systems and processes must be established and operated effectively to investigate, immediately upon becoming aware of, any allegation or evidence of such abuse.

(4) Care or treatment for service users must not be provided in a way that--
(a) includes discrimination against a service user on grounds of any protected characteristic (as defined in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010) of the service user,
(b) includes acts intended to control or restrain a service user that are not necessary to prevent, or not a proportionate response to, a risk of harm posed to the service user or another individual if the service user was not subject to control or restraint,
(c) is degrading for the service user, or
(d) significantly disregards the needs of the service user for care or treatment.

(5) A service user must not be deprived of their liberty for the purpose of receiving care or treatment without lawful authority.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation, 'abuse' means--
(a) any behaviour towards a service user that is an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003,
(b) ill-treatment (whether of a physical or psychological nature) of a service user,
(c) theft, misuse or misappropriation of money or property belonging to a service user, or
(d) neglect of a service user.

(7) For the purposes of this regulation, a person controls or restrains a service user if that person--
(a) uses, or threatens to use, force to secure the doing of an act which the service user resists, or
(b) restricts the service user's liberty of movement, whether or not the service user resists, including by use of physical, mechanical or chemical means.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, 'abuse' means:

Any behaviour towards a person using services that is an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Ill-treatment of a person whether of a physical or psychological nature.
Theft, misuse or misappropriation of money or property belonging to a person using services, or
Neglect of a person using services.

Physical violence, verbal aggression, unwanted sexual contact, money or property taken without consent or under pressure, neglectful care or the deprivation of choice, privacy or social contact.

Harm that is caused by anyone who has power over another person, which may include family members, friends, unpaid carers and health or social care workers. It can take various forms, including physical harm or neglect, and verbal, emotional or sexual abuse. Adults at risk can also be the victim of financial abuse from people they trust. Abuse may be carried out by individuals or by the organisation that employs them.

Abuse is a violation of an individual's human and civil rights. Abuse may consist of a single act or repeated acts and may affect one person or more. Abuse can take many forms the following are only examples. It may be physical, verbal, psychological, or discriminatory, it may be an act of neglect or an omission to act, or it may occur when a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which he or she has not consented, or cannot consent. Abuse may take the form of honour based violence, modern slavery or exploitation.

Abuse is a violation of an individual's human and civil rights. Abuse may consist of a single act or repeated acts and may affect one person or more. Abuse can take many forms the following are only examples. It may be physical, verbal, psychological, or discriminatory, it may be an act of neglect or an omission to act, or it may occur when a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which he or she has not consented, or cannot consent. Abuse may take the form of honour based violence, modern slavery or exploitation.

The Care and support statutory guidance identifies ten types of abuse. These are:

Physical abuse
Domestic violence or abuse
Sexual abuse
Psychological or emotional abuse
Financial or material abuse
Modern slavery
Discriminatory abuse
Organisational or institutional abuse
Neglect or acts of omission
Self-neglect

[Please click on the link to the source of this definition above (https://www.scie.org.uk/safeguarding/adults/introduction/types-and-indicators-of-abuse) for full definitions and indicators of each type of abuse. Alternatively this information is available in the glossary definition of each category.]