Family Violence Initiative

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Neglect

Neglect happens when a family member, who has a duty to care^* for you, fails to provide you with your basic needs.

This can involve:

• not giving you proper food or warm clothing
• not providing you with a safe and warm place to live
• failing to provide adequate health care, medication and personal hygiene (if needed)
• failing to prevent physical harm, or
• failing to ensure you have proper supervision (if needed).

It may also include leaving you alone for too long if you are injured or unwell.

Spouses and common-law partners have a duty to care for each other. Adults have a duty to care for their dependent children as well as their dependent parents.

Some forms of neglect are crimes in Canada, including failure to provide the necessities of life^* and child abandonment.^* If a child is neglected, child protection authorities could intervene and remove the child from his or her parents.

Sometimes, neglect can hurt just as much as physical abuse.

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