Misogyny, State Failure, and the Family Court Crisis: Pathways to Survivor-Centered Justice (Session 2: Featured Speaker)

Misogyny, State Failure, and the Family Court Crisis: Pathways to Survivor-Centered Justice (Session 2: Featured Speaker)

In this powerful lunch session, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls Reem Alsalem examines the deep-rooted misogyny and institutional failures that characterize family court systems globally. Alsalem draws on her extensive work documenting state complicity in perpetuating violence against women through family court decisions that prioritize parental rights over child safety and survivor protection. This presentation explores how family courts often weaponize children as tools of continued coercive control, examining the systemic barriers that prevent survivors from achieving justice and safety for themselves and their children. Alsalem discusses the international human rights framework for addressing these failures, highlighting examples from multiple countries where reform efforts are underway. She presents pathways toward survivor-centered justice that acknowledge the role of misogyny in judicial decision-making and proposes concrete steps for rebuilding family court systems with protection and accountability at their core. This session challenges attendees to confront uncomfortable truths about institutional complicity while offering hope through emerging models of reform that center survivor voices and experiences.