ABSTRACT
In spite of the enormous changes which the family has undergone within the past hundred years, in its functions as well as in social esteem, theoretically at least it is still regarded as one of the fundamental values of our civilization. How far is it desirable that it should be protected by the means at the disposal of the criminal law, and is the protection which it actually receives adequate to enable the family to play its proper part in communal life ? It is obvious that, generally speaking, only the external structure and the material basis, not the spiritual side of family life, can be safeguarded by penalties. As a consequence, the defensive wall built around the family by the criminal law of most countries consists of four provisions only, dealing with bigamy, adultery, incest, and neglect to support. We are not here concerned with the much more numerous penal provisions for the protection of children, as most of them are equally applicable outside the family circle.
