Broken Promises: How Legal Systems Can Harm Instead of Heal

WAVE Network, in collaboration with The Advocates for Human Rights, invites participants to a panel discussion examining how legal systems intended to deliver justice can instead reinforce harm for survivors of gender-based violence.

Across jurisdictions, survivors often encounter justice systems that appear formally accessible but are shaped by structural inequalities, gender stereotypes, and limited understanding of trauma and abuse. As a result, women seeking protection and accountability may experience victim-blaming, institutional barriers, economic obstacles, or even criminalisation for actions connected to the violence they have endured.

Bringing together perspectives from Europe and the United States, this panel will explore how these dynamics manifest across criminal, family, and administrative legal systems. Speakers will share experiences from their respective fields, highlighting how processes that seem neutral or protective in theory can, in practice, retraumatise survivors and undermine meaningful access to justice.

The discussion will also focus on strategies for change. Drawing on feminist legal approaches, advocacy efforts, and monitoring initiatives such as court observation, panelists will reflect on how legal systems can be held accountable and transformed to better centre survivors’ experiences and rights.

WAVE’s Contribution

Access to justice is a central pillar of efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Through its advocacy, research, and capacity-building work, WAVE supports women’s specialist services and feminist organisations across Europe in addressing the systemic barriers survivors face when engaging with legal and institutional systems.

This discussion contributes to ongoing conversations around strengthening accountability within justice systems, improving institutional responses to gender-based violence, and advancing survivor-centred approaches within legal frameworks and international standards.

By bringing together legal experts, advocates, and civil society perspectives, the event aims to foster dialogue on how justice systems can move beyond formal access to ensure genuine protection, dignity, and equality for survivors.

Event Details

Date: 10 March 2026
Time: 10:30 – 12:00
Location: Salvation Army, Lower Level

This event will take place during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70).