I’m betting almost everyone reading this has an acquaintance or loved one who meets the traditional definition of lame. Her disabilities are not insurmountable problems, but they are certainly challenges, both physically and emotionally. Getting things out of her locker is a challenge and sometimes, when she needs to go from one floor to another, she must do so alone in the elevator, while the other kids take the stairs. The girl in my daughter’s class who uses a wheel chair (and occasionally crutches) would also be considered 'lame' by the old definition. Their physical world is bounded and confined by reduced mobility. They don’t go out much because it’s too painful to move very far. They walk slowly and “haltingly” with walkers. My elderly neighbors might be described as “lame,” according to the traditional definition (though it’s not a current medical term and isn’t-and shouldn’t be-commonly used to describe people with disabilities in this day and age). It’s the adjective lame, and we need to stop using it.Ĭan we take a minute to think about what the word lame really means? The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that lame means to be “disabled or impaired in any way weak, infirm paralyzed unable to move.” This dictionary tells us that the word lame also applies especially to being “disabled in the foot or leg, so as to walk haltingly or be unable to walk.” But that doesn’t cover the whole meaning, as anyone with a physical disability knows. To learn more about escaping an abusive situation, read this article on domestic abuse help.I’ve heard it used by colleagues and middle-schoolers, characters in middle-level fiction and family members I’ve even heard it from the pulpit, being used by an otherwise progressive minister.

Every person has the right to live an abuse-free life. Victims of abuse must know that the abuse is wrong and that the abuse is never their fault.

One person has no right to exercise control over another through abuse. And while this might be an explanation of abuse, it’s certainly no excuse. When a truly abusive situation exists, it’s because one party is seeking to control the other through abuse. Yes, abuse is when one person purposefully hurts another, but that is a common occurrence in life and most of us are guilty of engaging in that from time to time. While the definition of abuse is simple, the meaning of abuse isn’t so clear. And perhaps even more alarming, over three million reports of child abuse were filed with Child Protective Services in the United States in the fiscal year 2010. Young people are not immune from abuse either with one-in-three teenagers having experienced violence within a dating relationship. 2 This equates to approximately 8.5 million incidents of domestic violence occurring each year. Abuse within families is often known as domestic abuse or domestic violence Defining the Scope of Abuse in the United StatesĪbuse is a huge problem in the United States with almost one-in-three adult women and more than one-in-five adult men reporting having experienced physical, sexual or psychological intimate partner abuse in their lifetime. When one partner abuses another, it’s known as intimate partner abuse. ( Information on child abuse and types of child abuse, can be found here.)Ībuse is most commonly committed by a person the victim knows and, often, lives with. There are many kinds of abuse encountered by adults, including:Īll forms of abuse are illegal in the United States and can be met with criminal penalties. In short, someone who purposefully harms another in any way is committing abuse. According to the Gale Encyclopaedia of Medicine, the definition of abuse is the following 1: Abuse is defined as any action that intentionally harms or injures another person. “Abuse” is a word that is thrown around a lot in casual conversion but what defines abuse? How does one know if they are committing abuse or if they are being abused? The abuse definition is actually quite simple.

Define lame