Glossary: Emotional Abuse
The persistent emotional maltreatment of a child so as to cause
severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may
involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only
insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child
opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them, or making fun of what
they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate
expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond
a child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration
and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may
involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying
(including cyber bullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or
the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all
types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
(Definition provided by Working Together)