The range of abuse and violence includes non-physical and physical abuse, violence and assault:

1. VERBAL

General verbal abuse includes demeaning, caustic and threatening language.

Verbal abuses may also include threats of withdrawal of care, support, or services, especially in instances of abuse of people with disabilities.

2. EMOTIONAL

Psychological and emotional abuse and violence are very complex, as all forms of abuse and violence have an emotional abuse component.

The intricacies of emotional abuse include: causing isolation, stalking, intense criticism, name calling, withholding affection, withholding attention, manipulation with dangerous consequences or at least the threat of these dangerous consequences, and more.

In addition to verbal abuse, emotional abuse includes behaviors that are distinctly unspoken such as: ignoring someone or the "silent treatment;” looks displaying wishes of negative or harmful things onto someone; looks displaying anger or hatred; looks which are powerfully degrading; looks saying “danger is coming.”

3. SPIRITUAL

Spiritual abuse takes place when the spirit, the will, the morale, of a person is intentionally drained and even demeaned as a result of the harassment, criticism, and verbal assaults of another.

Spiritual abuse tends to include causing spiritual isolation and spiritual embarrassment; mocking or denying practice of someone’s spiritual beliefs and customs; ridiculing someone’s faith; unfairly using sacred practices to control a person, or to justify abuse or to prevent safety or healing.

4. ECONOMIC

General economic abuse is seen between adults, in some intimate partner or other consenting relationships, including contractual, (such as caregiver) relationships. It involves denying access to, lying about, taking from, and/or otherwise controlling someone’s financial resources.

It includes such behaviors as trying to keep someone from getting or keeping a job, making that person ask for money, making that person lie or commit frauds or crimes for money, or simply taking that person’s money away. It also includes sabotaging a person’s work or work productivity.

Economic abuse often includes wrongly controlling an adult’s money in ways a parent might do quite rightly with his or her dependent child or teen, such as giving an allowance or otherwise controlling financial decisions. Between adults, these issues should be fairly decided upon. Economic abuse of this sort involves the abuser treating the abused person as if that person is a child.

5. PHYSICAL

Physical abuse can be to or around someone. General physical abuse to someone includes hitting, restraining, blocking, spitting, squeezing, shaking, burning, poisoning, etc. Where caregivers working with persons with disabilities are involved, this physical abuse can extend to inappropriate handling and inappropriate personal care.

Physical abuse can also occur around someone such as cornering, throwing, striking, breaking, or upsetting objects around someone. It can include abuse to another person or pet. The message this sends is that "You're next!"

Threatening with an actual weapon is physical abuse as well as emotional abuse.

Sexual abuse and sexual assault are also physical abuse.

6. SEXUAL

Sexual abuse is sexual behavior that crosses someone's sexual boundary without his/her permission: such as rape, or molestation, or sexual harassment. Sexual assault includes any form of nonconsensual sexual activity.

Violence involving sex can take many forms ranging from intimidation and touching to rape to sexual homicide. Physical sexual assault including but not limited to rape can involve a weapon such as a gun however often it does not. This form of sexual assault may begin with physical violence or it may begin with pressure and intimidation resulting in rape or molestation, or posing for compromising photos.

Sexual violence of a verbal nature is talking about sex with someone who doesn't want to talk this way, or using sexual words that the person does not want to hear. This verbal sexual abuse may or may not be a precursor to physical sexual abuse.