How do you know if an adult is being abused?
Abuse is the deliberate mistreatment of an adult which causes physical, mental or emotional harm, or damage to their property or their assets. There are different types of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, and financial. And it can happen to anyone, at any age, in any culture, no matter what his or her gender, income, or religion.

How do you know if an adult is being neglected or is neglecting him or herself?
Neglect is the failure to provide necessary care, assistance, guidance, or attention that causes the person physical, mental, or emotional harm.

Self-Neglect is when an adult fails to take care of their own basic needs to the point that causes the person physical, mental, or emotional harm or significant loss of their personal assets.

Do any of these situations seem familiar to you?

• You become concerned after seeing a young woman screaming at a neighbour in the hallway of your apartment building. Your neighbour is a frail, elderly man who recently had a stroke, and you’ve seen this happen once or twice before. This could be a sign that the man is being emotionally abused.
• A mother, who is disabled with a brain injury, gives her bank account information to her daughter so that the daughter can buy groceries. The next month the mother’s rent cheque bounces at the bank, because there is no money left in her account. Her landlord tells her she has to leave because she can’t pay the rent. This mother may be abused because her daughter is taking advantage of her financially.
  
• An 82-year-old woman with dementia is being cared for at home by her husband. But her room and bedding are not clean, and she has a large sore on her back. It looks like she may not be getting proper care from her husband or anyone else. This elderly lady may be neglected.
• You have a friend with multiple sclerosis who has always been a very cheerful and upbeat person. But in recent visits to her, you notice that she is often quiet, moody, and tearful, and refuses to open up about what is bothering her. She seems anxious and afraid. This friend may be abused physically, emotionally, or sexually.

These scenes describe some common signs of Adult Abuse and Neglect. Every situation is different. But there may be something in these stories that seem familiar or similar to a situation you know about. Even if you don’t know for sure that someone is abused or neglected, you may want to get help for them to find out if there is a problem.