Abuse means hurting or mistreating someone in different ways.

Here are some examples:

• physical abuse: Intentionally hurting or injuring someone on purpose. This could be hitting, smacking, pushing, shaking, spitting, pinching, burning, giving someone the wrong medicine, using improper restraints, or any other way of causing harm to someone's body
• emotional abuse: This means trying to scare or control someone by making them afraid or using methods to isolate them
  sexual abuse: Doing anything sexual to someone without their permission
• financial abuse: Taking advantage of someone's money or belongings
• neglect: Not caring for someone properly, like not giving them food or medical help 
• discrimination: Mistreating someone because of things like their race, gender, or age
• institutional abuse: Mistreating people in places like nursing homes or hospitals where they should be cared for

Abuse can hurt people, so it's important to recognise it and get help if you see it happening. Sometimes, people close to at-risk adults might mistreat them. This could be family members, caregivers, volunteers, or even neighbours and friends. 

It can also happen in places like nursing homes or hospitals where people aren't cared for properly. Abuse might be done on purpose, because of neglect, or because the person responsible doesn't know any better.