Gender and Family Justice News Archive

Healing and accountability took center stage at our RISE team's Domestic Violence Awareness Month rally and resource fair in Harlem.

Despite the devastating impacts of intimate partner violence on communities across the country, traditional responses to it often fall short of what survivors and the people most impacted really need. In working with survivors in New York City and nationwide, we've seen firsthand the importance of taking a multifaceted approach to ending domestic violence.

A new national commission bringing awareness to the unique issues women face in the criminal justice system started its journey with a visit to our Brownsville Community Justice Center.

Summer is here, and that means our RISE team is out in the community, addressing intimate partner and gun violence by creating safe spaces for healing and wellness.

Domestic violence goes to the heart of the challenge of building safe and just communities, and demands that we listen deeply to the needs of survivors and others who have experienced harm; that we involve the community intimately in decisions about safety and accountability. This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, learn how we at the Center for Justice Innovation put these ideas into action.

Native children navigating the child welfare system are uniquely vulnerable. Read about the recent Supreme Court decision that protects their right to stay connected to their families and communities—and the smaller, no less inspiring efforts to support them on the ground.

With a series of interactive graphic novels, we help guide and support children navigating the legal system as victims and witnesses. An additional set of guides we worked to create ensure that practitioners have what they need to do the same.

Well over 100,000 children have to interact with the legal system each year in the United States, as victims or witnesses to crime. A series of graphic novels we helped to create use storytelling and illustration to empower children through the process.

What started as part-time legal work as a brand new mom over 12 years ago has transformed into the role of program director for Sarah Reckess, who is leading and growing the Upstate New York office of the Center for Court Innovation. Based in Syracuse, Sarah’s team works within the court system and alongside communities throughout the Upstate New York region, from cities like Buffalo to rural communities east of Syracuse. 

Nida Abbasi works across the country to help courts and communities reduce trauma around cases involving family and gender-based violence.