Informalized Justice and Domestic Violence: Reflections on Systemic Family Constellation

Abstract

The growing informalization of the justice system in Brazil, particularly in the handling of domestic violence cases, has sparked intense debates within the fields of conflict resolution and gender studies. In recent years, media reports have exposed the controversial use of systemic family constellation practices in judicial contexts, revealing procedures that, in certain situations, may be considered abusive—especially when the technique contributes to the re-victimization of women who have experienced domestic violence. In this article, I offer a critical analysis of the application of systemic family constellation in settings marked by a history of domestic violence. Based on fieldwork, I identify two main currents among jurist-constellators, whose approaches outline distinct perspectives regarding the use of this methodology in sensitive cases. I argue that, in addition to incorporating familist assumptions that may undermine women's rights, this practice reveals structural limitations within the justice system itself: the persistent tendency toward re-victimization in informalized environments and the reproduction of a conciliatory and familist rhetoric in the treatment of domestic violence.