Yielding when lacking with regards to protection (7)
I believe the answer is:
defence
'protection' is the definition.
(I know that defence is a type of protection)
'yielding when lacking with regards to' is the wordplay.
'yielding' becomes 'deference'.
'when lacking' is a deletion indicator.
'with regards to' becomes 're' (re means regarding a certain topic).
'deference' with 're' removed is 'DEFENCE'.
(Other definitions for defence that I've seen before include "Military's purpose" , "Military protection" , "Weaponry, possibly" , "shelter" , "barricade" .)