student asking question

What's the main difference between "harassment" and "abuse"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Harassment causes stress or worry to a person by persisting or crossing lines, whereas "abuse" is the unjust and bad treatment of someone, physical or non-physical, or ill-use of power. Depending on the context, harassment can either be a form of abuse or can lead to it. Ex: I was tired of being harassed by the phone company calling me every day. Ex: Just because you're bigger than her doesn't mean you should hit her. That would be abuse. Ex: Abandonment is a form of emotional abuse and can take time to heal from it. Ex: I was harassed walking home from work again. I'll take the bus next time.

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