Abuse of vulnerable adults
Abuse of vulnerable adults
A vulnerable adult is anyone aged 18 or over who - due to age, illness, or mental or physical disability - may be unable to look after or protect themselves. Abuse is a violation of a person's rights.
There are different kinds of abuse:
- Discriminatory abuse - treating people badly because of their race, gender, age, sexuality, disability or religion; for example: verbal abuse, inappropriate use of language, slurs, harassment, deliberate exclusion
- Physical abuse - deliberately hurting someone; for example: hitting, pushing, scalding, shaking, kicking, pinching, hair pulling, inappropriate restraint or misusing medication
- Sexual abuse - rape, sexual assault or pressuring someone into sexual acts they don't understand or feel powerless to refuse
- Psychological abuse - this includes using threats, humiliation, bullying, swearing and any other form of mental cruelty that results in distress. It also includes denying people basic rights such as choice, self-expression, privacy and dignity. Examples: treating a person inappropriately for their age and/or cultural background, blaming, intimidation, insults, harassment, depriving people of contact, threatening to abandon them
- Financial abuse - for example, stealing or misuse of an individual's money, valuables or property, forcing them to change their Will, denying them access to their money or possessions
- Institutional abuse - when an institution (such as a hospital, day service or care home) uses routines and systems that disregard the needs of the people it is there to support; for example: inflexible dining or bathing routines
- Acts of omission and neglect - when a vulnerable adult is deprived of assistance they need; for example: the withholding of food, shelter, clothing, heating, medical care, hygiene, personal care, or appropriate medication
Where does it happen?
Abuse of vulnerable adults occurs across all social groups regardless of race, gender, class, culture, disability, sexuality, age or religion. Abusers can be found a wide range of people including relatives, partners, carers, health professionals, volunteers and service providers. Abuse may occur in a variety of locations including their home, with relatives, in a care home, a day centre, hospital or on the streets.
Who's responsible for investigating the abuse of vulnerable adults?
Local Authorities and the police are responsible for acting together to protect vulnerable adults and promote their human rights.
The role of the police is to investigate any criminal offences of abuse and Sussex Police has dedicated special investigators in plain clothes who work together with social workers to provide help to those suffering abuse. The law provides a range of support called Special Measures which may be put in place to assist vulnerable victims and witnesses in giving evidence
More information about how the Local Authorities in Sussex work together to protect vulnerable adults - as well as contact details and online reporting facilities - are available on their websites:
If you are a vulnerable adult suffering abuse…
You do not have to suffer abuse in silence; we can and will help you.
If you are in immediate danger or need urgent medical attention, dial 999 for the police and an ambulance.
If you are not in immediate danger, call Sussex Police on 101.
If you do not feel confident about contacting the police, ask a trusted friend or relative to help you or contact your local Adult Social Care services in your Local Authority.
If you suspect a vulnerable adult is being abused…
If you believe anyone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical attention, dial 999 for the police and an ambulance. Then contact Adult Social Care services in your Local Authority.
If no-one is in immediate danger but you are concerned that abuse is taking place, contact Adult Social Care services in your Local Authority.
It is important to write down, with times and dates, anything that you have been told or that you have observed. The police and or Social Services will need this information should they become involved.