24/7 provincial toll-free crisis line 18779770007

  • Manitoba Association of Women's Shelters

MAWS provides information only. If you are in danger call 911. If you or someone you know is being abused, call the confidential 24/7 provincial toll-free crisis & support line at: 1-877-977-0007

Glossary

Defining some key terms and acronyms:

Abuse

Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure, or wound someone.

https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse

Addiction

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease—people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction

 

Assault

The definition of assault varies by jurisdiction, but is generally defined as intentionally putting another person in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault

 

Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat.

https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety

 

Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout in the course of employment can make one feel emotionally drained and unable to function in the context of work and other aspects of life. Burnout can reduce productivity and can lower your motivation and cause you to feel helpless, hopeless and resentful.

https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/career-burnout

 

Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue is a term that describes the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of helping others often through experiences of stress or trauma.

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-compassion-fatigue

 

Child Abuse

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional and/or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that causes injury or emotional damage to a child or youth.

https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/violence-bullying-and-abuse-prevention/educators/child-abuse-and-neglect-prevention/definitions-of-child-abuse-and-neglect

 

Depression

Depression also known as major depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that makes you feel constant sadness or lack of interest in life.

https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/what-is-depression

 

Discrimination

Discrimination is an action or a decision that treats a person or a group badly for reasons such as their race, age or disability. These reasons, also called grounds, are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/about-human-rights/what-discrimination

 

Domestic Abuse

Also called “domestic violence” or “intimate partner violence”, can be defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. It can occur within a range of relationships including couples who are married, living together or dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.

https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse

 

Drug abuse

Gender based-violence (GBV)

Gender-Based violence refers to harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms.

https://www.unhcr.org/gender-based-violence.html

 

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

 

Rape

Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are infections that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. The contact is usually vaginal, oral, or anal sex. But sometimes they can spread through other intimate physical contact. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skin-to-skin contact.

https://medlineplus.gov/sexuallytransmitteddiseases.html

 

Suicide

Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with any intent to end their life, but they do not die as a result of their actions.

https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

 

Transgender

Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.

https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/transgender

 

Trauma

Trauma is a term used to describe the challenging emotional consequences that living through a distressing event can have for an individual. Traumatic events can be difficult to define because the same event may be more traumatic for some people than for others.

https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/trauma

 

Violence

Violence is defined by the World Health Organization is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.

http://elib.ipa.government.bg:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/561/World%20report%20on%20violence%20and%20health%20pdf.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y