Physical Abuse Completed

Physical abuse is purposely hurting someone causing injuries such as bruises, broken bones, cuts or burns. It is intentional and unwanted contact with someone or something close to their body. Physical abuse is the most visible types of abuse and there are different types that a person may experience. It can be something that can start slowly or less obviously. This type of violence can happen in relationships, in people’s homes, in social care settings e.g. care homes, schools, in your own home. Types of physical abuse are, scratching or biting, pushing or shoving, slapping, kicking, punching, throwing things, using weapons, choking or strangling and also physical restraint.
Signs and symptoms are indications that abuse has happened. Indicators can be injuries or bruises but behavioural indicators are ways that abusers or victims act or interact with one another. Patterns of indicators suggest that there is a problem. Physical indicators can be sprains, dislocations, fractures or broken bones, burns from cigarettes or hot water, grazes on the arms, legs or torso that look like rope or strap marks, internal injuries that are evidenced by pain, and also bruises. Bilateral bruises on the arms may indicate that the person has been grabbed, shaken or maybe restrained, bilateral bruising on the thighs could indicate sexual abuse, and bruises that encircle an older person’s arms could suggest that they have been restrained. If a person has multi-coloured bruising that this could mean that they were sustained over time and also injuries healing through secondary intention may mean that the person has not received appropriate care. Behavioural indicators can be injuries that are unexplained or explanations do not fit with the injuries observed, someone’s family members may provide a different explanation of how the injuries were sustained. There may be a delay between the onset of injury and seeking medical care for it, having a history of any similar injuries or