Neglect, for me, was feeling totally unprotected and unsafe, especially in the home. I'm not sure there's a universal definition, and that's why neglect is almost impossible to prove in a legal, or maybe even clinical, setting.

Problem is that almost all research of which I'm aware is showing that neglect is incredibly damaging. Most people who were neglected probably don't even know it. Physical and sexual abuse leaves episodic memories; neglect not so much (although they can be there, for sure; times being left alone for days at a time, stuff like that). So how do you define the absence of something? More importantly, how do we, as individuals, understand the importance of that absence when it's almost impossible to assess how much/when/what? See where I'm going with this?