Legal Definitions - failure to protect

Failure to Protect

In family law, failure to protect refers to a situation where a parent or legal guardian does not prevent a child under their care from experiencing harm or abuse. This can occur either because the caregiver actively refuses to intervene, or because they are unable to do so, thereby failing in their fundamental responsibility to ensure the child's safety and well-being.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Example 1: Witnessing and Ignoring Abuse
  A mother is present in the home and observes her live-in partner repeatedly verbally and emotionally abusing her young child, causing significant distress and psychological harm. Despite witnessing these incidents, she does not intervene to stop the abuse, nor does she seek help or remove the child from the harmful environment.

  This illustrates failure to protect because the mother, as a caregiver, was aware of the ongoing abuse but refused to take action to prevent it, thereby failing to safeguard her child's emotional and psychological well-being.

• Example 2: Neglecting Known Risks
  A guardian is aware that their teenage ward is spending unsupervised time with an adult who has a documented history of predatory behavior towards minors. Despite this knowledge, the guardian takes no steps to restrict contact, provide supervision, or report the situation to authorities, leading to the teenager being put at significant risk of harm.

  This demonstrates failure to protect as the guardian possessed knowledge of a serious threat to the child's safety but was unable or unwilling to take appropriate measures to prevent potential abuse or exploitation.

• Example 3: Impairment Leading to Unsafe Conditions
  A father struggles with severe, untreated mental health issues that significantly impair his judgment and ability to care for his infant. As a result, the infant is frequently left unattended in dangerous situations, such as near open windows or with access to hazardous household chemicals, leading to multiple preventable injuries.

  This is an example of failure to protect because the father's inability to provide adequate supervision due to his impairment directly resulted in the child being exposed to dangerous conditions and suffering harm, highlighting a failure to ensure the child's physical safety.