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Physical Abuse
British Columbia Specific Information
Physical, verbal, or sexual abuse at any time, at any age, or in any relationship is not ok.
Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number if you or someone you know is in immediate danger from assault or abuse. To speak to someone confidentially and to get more information, call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) or contact one of the services below.
- Helpline for Children
If a child anywhere in B.C. needs help, call the Helpline at 310-1234 any time of the day or night to speak to a social worker, no area code is needed. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call 1-866-660-0505 for TTY services. This is a toll-free service, and there is no charge to call the operator if you need to call from a pay phone. This helpline is available for children, parents, and other community members to report abuse. For more information, visit Reporting Child Abuse in BC. - Kids Help Phone
Children and teens can call the Kids Help Phone to speak to a counsellor day or night at 1-800-668-6868. Counsellors are available to speak to anonymously about concerns with abuse and can help children and teens call the police or child protective services. For more information about the resources and support available visit Kids Help Phone. - VictimLink BC
If you or someone you know are a victim of crime and need more information or support, call VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808 for toll-free, confidential, multilingual service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information, visit VictimLink BC. - Seniors Abuse & Information Line
If you are an older adult who has been abused or mistreated call the Seniors Abuse & Information Line (SAIL) at 604-437-1940 or toll free at 1-866-437-1940, 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., to get a referral to their legal advocate and other programs. For more information about their programs and resources visit Seniors First BC.
Overview
Violence can happen to anyone—males or females, children, teens, adults, older adults, or people with disabilities. You are not to blame. No matter what happened, violence is not okay. Violent people usually have many problems that they find hard to deal with, which can cause them to act out with violence.
Physical abuse includes hitting, pushing, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, choking, strangling, and burning. Physical abuse may come from a stranger, an acquaintance, or a close friend or family member. Many victims of abuse know their attacker.
Violent behaviour can also hurt you emotionally. You may feel sad or frightened. Feelings of guilt may prevent you from getting help. But it is important for you to seek help and continue to get help for yourself as long as you need it. Talk to your local child or adult protective agency, the police, or a health professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or counsellor. You can also call a local mental health clinic. Any of these people can help you deal with your feelings, get medical treatment if needed, and take steps to stop the abuser.
If you have been abused or assaulted, contact your doctor as soon as possible. If you have questions about how soon you should be seen, you can check your symptoms.
Check Your Symptoms
The medical assessment of symptoms is based on the body parts you have.
- If you are transgender or non-binary, choose the sex that matches the body parts (such as ovaries, testes, prostate, breasts, penis, or vagina) you now have in the area where you are having symptoms.
- If your symptoms aren’t related to those organs, you can choose the gender you identify with.
- If you have some organs of both sexes, you may need to go through this triage tool twice (once as "male" and once as "female"). This will make sure that the tool asks the right questions for you.
Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:
- Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
- Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
- Medicines you take. Certain medicines, such as blood thinners (anticoagulants), medicines that suppress the immune system like steroids or chemotherapy, or natural health products can cause symptoms or make them worse.
- Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
- Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.
Try Home Treatment
You have answered all the questions. Based on your answers, you may be able to take care of this problem at home.
- Try home treatment to relieve the symptoms.
- Call your doctor if symptoms get worse or you have any concerns (for example, if symptoms are not getting better as you would expect). You may need care sooner.
Physical abuse may include:
- Acts of physical violence, like hitting, pushing, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, choking, strangling, and burning.
- Threats of physical violence against you, your family, or your pets.
Sexual abuse is any type of sexual activity that is done against your will. It can be:
- Non-violent sexual abuse, such as unwanted touching or being forced to watch or look at sexual pictures.
- Violent sexual assault, such as rape or forced oral sex.
If you have just been sexually abused or assaulted, try to preserve any evidence of the attack.
- Do not change your clothes.
- Do not bathe, shower, brush your teeth, or clean up in any way.
- Do not eat or drink anything.
- Do not smoke.
- Write down everything you can remember about the assault and about the person who assaulted you.
Neglect is a form of abuse. It happens when caregivers do not protect the health and well-being of the person they are supposed to take care of.
Two common types of neglect are:
- Child neglect. This happens when parents (or other caregivers) fail to provide a child with the food, shelter, schooling, clothing, medical care, or protection the child needs.
- Elder neglect. This includes failing to provide an older person with food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and other basics. Neglect can include failing to pay nursing home or medical costs for the person if you have a legal responsibility to do so.
Seek Care Today
Based on your answers, you may need care soon. The problem probably will not get better without medical care.
- Call your doctor today to discuss the symptoms and arrange for care.
- If you cannot reach your doctor or you don't have one, seek care today.
- If it is evening, watch the symptoms and seek care in the morning.
- If the symptoms get worse, seek care sooner.
Seek Care Now
Based on your answers, you may need help right away.
Call your local hospital, clinic, or police department.
You may also call 9-1-1.
Call 9-1-1 Now
Based on your answers, you need emergency care.
Call 9-1-1 or other emergency services now.
Sometimes people don't want to call 9-1-1. They may think that their symptoms aren't serious or that they can just get someone else to drive them. But based on your answers, the safest and quickest way for you to get the care you need is to call 9-1-1 for medical transport to the hospital.
Seek Care Today
Based on your answers, you may need help soon.
Call your local hospital, clinic, or police department.
You may also call 9-1-1.
Home Treatment
If you feel threatened, youmust have a plan for dealing with a threatening situation. If a family member or someone else has threatened to harm you or your child, seek help:
- If you need immediate help, call 9-1-1.
- Check your local phone book or provincial website for resources on getting help in your area.
- Tell someone: the police, a trusted friend, a spiritual adviser, or a health professional. If the incident occurred at work, contact your human resources department for help.
- Find local resources that can help in a crisis. Your local police department, mental health clinic, or hospital has information on shelters and safe homes.
- Be alert to warning signs, such as threats or drunkenness, so that you can avoid a dangerous situation. If you cannot predict when violence may occur, have an exit plan for use in an emergency.
- If a child tells you that he or she has been abused, stay calm. Tell the child that you believe him or her and that you will do your best to keep him or her safe. Report the abuse to the local police or child protective services agency. For more information, see the topic Child Abuse and Neglect.
If you are no longer living with a violent person, contact the police to obtain a protection order if your abuser continues to pursue you and act violently toward you. Protection orders may also be called restraining orders, emergency intervention orders, peace bonds, or emergency protection orders.
If you know someone who may be a victim of violent behaviour
Here are some things you can do to help a friend or family member.
- Let your friend know you are willing to listen whenever she or he wants to talk. Don't confront your friend if she or he is not ready to talk. Encourage your friend to talk with her or his health professional, human resources manager, and supervisor to see what resources might be available.
- Tell your friend that the abuse is not her or his fault and that no one deserves to be abused. Remind your friend that violence is against the law and that help is available. Be understanding if she or he is unable to leave. She or he knows the situation best and when it is safest to leave.
- If your friend has children, gently point out that you are concerned that the violence is affecting them. Many people do not understand that their children are being harmed until someone else talks about this concern.
- Encourage and help your friend develop a safety plan. This plan will help keep your friend and her or his children safe during a violent incident, when preparing to leave, and after leaving.
The most important step is to help your friend contact local domestic violence groups. There are programs across the country that provide options for safety, legal support and needed information and services. Check your local phone book or provincial website for resources on getting help in your area.
The most dangerous time for your friend may be when she or he is leaving the abusive relationship, so any advice about leaving must be informed and practical.
Violence is learned behaviour, so it is especially important to help your children learn that violence is not a healthy way to resolve conflict. Living in a violent environment increases your child's chances of developing behaviour problems, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, poor school achievement, and lowered expectations for the future. People who are maltreated as children are more likely to abuse others. If you were ever abused, it is very important to get treatment so that you learn different ways to resolve conflict and use appropriate discipline.
If you have been a victim of abuse and continue to have problems related to the abuse, you may experience mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For more information, see the topics Depression, Anxiety, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Symptoms to watch for during home treatment
If violence occurs again, call your doctor to decide if and when you need to see your doctor or get other help.
Prevention
Prevent violence in your home.
- Learn non-violent ways to resolve conflicts. Arguing is fine, even healthy, as long as it does not turn violent. For more information on anger control, see the topic Anger, Hostility, and Violent Behaviour.
Keep yourself safe from violence.
- Be alert to warning signs, such as threats or drunkenness, so that you can avoid a dangerous situation. If you can't predict when violence may occur, have an exit plan for use in an emergency.
- Prevent violence with guns and other weapons. Do not provide your children or teenagers with unsupervised access to guns or other dangerous weapons.
- Do not keep loaded guns in your home.
- If you must keep guns in your home, unload them and lock them up. Lock ammunition in a separate place.
- Do not keep guns in a home where there is someone who has a drug or alcohol problem, is prone to violent behaviour, or has threatened suicide.
- Make sure that no one in your home will have access to guns or other weapons unless they know how to use them safely.
- If you are no longer living with a violent person, contact the police to obtain a protection order if your abuser continues to pursue you and act violently toward you.
- Teach your children that violence is not a solution. Settle arguments without yelling or hitting. Do not use physical discipline, such as spanking, pinching, ear pulling, jabbing, shoving, choking, or strangling. If you need help controlling your children, consider taking a course in parenting skills.
- Limit your child's exposure to TV, movies, and video games to no more than 1 to 2 hours per day.
- Watch for signs of violent behaviour in your child or teen.
Preparing For Your Appointment
If you have made an appointment with your health professional, you may be able to get the most from your visit by being prepared to answer the following questions:
A recent event
- Has someone hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt you on purpose?
- Has someone forced you to have sexual activities?
- What kind of injuries do you have?
- What triggered the abuser's violent behaviour?
- Has the abuser threatened violence against your children? Is he or she violent toward your children?
- Has the abuser hurt a pet or destroyed things that belong to you?
- Is the person who harmed you using any alcohol or illegal drugs?
- Does the person who harmed you have access to guns or other violent weapons?
- Do you have any risk factors that increase your chance of becoming a victim of violent behaviour?
If you need immediate help, call 9-1-1.
A history of abusive behaviour
- Have you ever been emotionally or physically abused by your partner or someone important to you?
- How long have you felt threatened by the violent behaviour of someone else?
- Are you the victim of angry outbursts or violent actions?
- Do another person's violent outbursts occur at regularly spaced time periods?
- Has the abuse increased recently?
- What kind of injuries has the abuse caused? Did you seek health care for the injuries? When and where?
- Does the abuser control most or all your activities every day?
- What triggers the abuser's violent behaviour?
- Has the abuser threatened violence against your children? Is he or she violent toward your children?
- Has the abuser hurt a pet or destroyed things that belong to you?
- Is the person who harmed you using any alcohol or illegal drugs?
- Does the person who harmed you have access to guns or other violent weapons?
- Does your family have a history of violent behaviour?
- Has the abuser ever been diagnosed with depression or a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or personality disorder?
- Do you have any risk factors that increase your chance of becoming a victim of violent behaviour?
Check your local phone book or provincial website for resources on getting help in your area.
Related Information
Credits
Adaptation Date: 1/20/2023
Adapted By: HealthLink BC
Adaptation Reviewed By: HealthLink BC
Adaptation Date: 1/20/2023
Adapted By: HealthLink BC
Adaptation Reviewed By: HealthLink BC
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