Short answer. Yes, in that specific situation. Family Code Article 215 generally protects a descendant from being compelled to testify against a parent or grandparent in a criminal case, but it carves out an exception precisely for a crime committed by one parent against the other — so your child can be compelled to testify against your spouse.
What the law says
No descendant shall be compelled, in a criminal case, to testify against his parents and grandparents, except when such testimony is indispensable in a crime against the descendant or by one parent against the other.
Family Code, Article 215 — A Descendant Cannot Be Compelled to Testify Against Parents. Read the full provision →
The general rule: children can't be forced to testify against parents
Article 215 of the Family Code protects the parent-child relationship by generally shielding a descendant — a child, grandchild, and so on — from being compelled, in a criminal case, to testify against their own parents or grandparents. The idea is to avoid forcing a child to choose between honesty in court and loyalty to family, and to protect family relationships from the strain of compelled testimony against a parent. Without an exception, this privilege would apply even where the parent is genuinely guilty.
The two exceptions the law carves out
The rule isn't absolute. Article 215 allows compelled testimony where it is indispensable in two situations: a crime committed against the descendant themselves, or a crime committed by one parent against the other. Both exceptions exist because the usual justification for the privilege — protecting the family unit — breaks down when a parent has harmed the very people the privilege is meant to protect, whether that's the child or the other parent.
Why your situation falls under the exception
If your spouse committed a crime against you, that is a crime by one parent against the other, which is exactly the second exception the law names. Your child can be compelled to testify against that parent in the criminal case, provided the testimony is indispensable — meaning it is genuinely necessary to prove the offense, not merely helpful or corroborative. The privilege that would otherwise protect your child from testifying against a parent does not apply here.
What 'indispensable' limits, and what this rule doesn't decide
The word indispensable matters: the exception isn't a blanket rule that a child can always be made to testify whenever one parent is accused by the other. It applies where the testimony is truly necessary to the case, not simply available or convenient for the prosecution. This provision only addresses whether the child can be compelled to testify — it says nothing about custody, support, or any other consequence that might follow from the underlying criminal case.