Using silence or pouting as a control tool is mental abuse. Of course a dispute can occur between people in a relationship and it can sometimes be difficult to realise what is mental abuse. It is always abuse when one person has the upper hand and uses it to get their way.

Research shows that disabled people are more likely to experience abuse than non-disabled people. At the same time, disabled victims are often not heard and their cases are even silenced.

It is emotional abuse when  someone threatens you or deliberately tries to scare, humiliate, isolate  or ignore you. It is sometimes called psychological or mental abuse. 

People with disabilities can be subjected to various kinds of abuse. It  is abuse when someone does something that hurts you or makes you feel bad.

María is a disabled woman who needs assistance with various activities in daily life. María lives in a supportive housing center where she feels ...

María is a disabled woman who needs assistance with various activities in daily life. María lives in a supportive housing center where she feels good most of the time. She feels sometimes however that some of the staff are not considerate of her needs.  

She had a difficult morning and the staff member who was helping her, Björn, was not happy with the way she spoke to him. Now Björn does not say anything when María talks to him but rather ignores her. The silence is so repressive that she does not have the courage to ask for lunch even though she is starving.

María

Is this abuse? Pick your answer: