Family law shares an interest in certain social issues with other areas of law, including criminal law. For example, one issue that has received considerable attention since the late 20th century is the very difficult problem of violence within the family, which may take the form of physical violence by one adult member on another or by an adult on a child or some other violent or abusive conduct within a family circle. In serious cases the only real solution may be to terminate cohabitation or to remove an abused child from the family unit into some form of public or foster custody.
