Abandonment means leaving something or someone alone and without care.
Abandonment is the act and consequence of abandoning . This verb can refer to leaving something or someone , moving away or neglecting them.
For example: "The old man lived in a state of absolute abandonment" , "The abandonment of dogs on public roads is a very important problem for this city" , "The neighbors are outraged by the abandonment of the cultural center by the authorities » .
Abandonment of a living being
When the concept is linked to a living being, it is associated with helplessness . Suppose a woman who has just had a child places the baby in a box, leaves it at the door of a church, and leaves the place. This reprehensible action implies the abandonment of the child, since the child will not have the care that his or her mother should provide.
A man who decides to kick his cat out of the house because she became pregnant will also be committing an act of abandonment. The animal, which was this person's pet, must start looking for the food that was previously given to it at home.
Dog abandonment is a common problem.
The term in politics and law
In the field of public policies, abandonment refers to the lack of attention to a certain space or topic. If a government stops investing resources in the care of a park and it begins to look dingy and full of garbage, it can be said that the authorities abandoned the green space in question.
If we focus on the right , abandonment can refer to the renunciation of exercising a certain right (such as the possession of property) or to the failure to comply with a legal obligation towards another person (such as the case mentioned above of the mother who does not provide the attention he owes to his son).
family abandonment
Within this area, we find what is known as family abandonment. This is a crime that is considered to be carried out by the spouse who leaves the family home and stops contributing, although they have that duty, to the economic maintenance of it and, above all, of their children and partner. Hence, it is the latter who is obliged to report the case to the police and judicial authorities, so that the pertinent proceedings can be opened and the person responsible assumes his duties as such.
However, there are exceptions to this situation. Specifically, we mean that it will not be considered as family abandonment if, despite leaving home, you continue to pay the financial amount that corresponds to you or if, within a maximum period of one month from leaving, you proceed to file a claim for separation or divorce.
In the same way, within this set of exceptions it is also possible that the person who leaves has done so under obligation to protect his or her life, if he or she was a victim of domestic violence. In addition, it may happen that a couple decides to separate for a while to think about whether to break up permanently or not without either of them falling into this crime.
Previously, in Spanish legislation, there was also the crime of abandoning the family home , but a few years ago it was eliminated. Hence, now there is no problem for spouses to live in different houses.