The idealisation of infancy in our culture is in part a defence against recognising the intense powerlessness, helplessness and dependency of the human infant. Despite the fantasy of infancy as being a time of nirvana, the first 12 months of life pose the highest risk of death from homicide; the most frequent form being fatal abuse by a caregiver. This paper addresses many of the issues confronting Australia at present: how to ensure the protection of individual infants (aged 0-3 years), how to respond to infants who have suffered neglect or abuse in ways that alleviate their suffering and heal and protect them from further harm, how to create a society that reduces the risks of infants and children becoming subject to neglect and abuse, and how to deal with the limits and failures of such endeavours.