"How Family Courts Can Become a System of #CoerciveControl with Prof. Sonja Karlss…" Perfect Prey: A Coercive Control Podcast @drcocchiola.bsky.social @profayebkarlsson.bsky.social 17 Jul 2026 [0:50:05] #HumanTrafficking #Cult https://s.cultpodcasts.com/JtDHhUKNG0SZ8jwJKznqlA

How Family Courts Can Become a System of Coercive Control with Prof. Sonja Karlsson

In this episode of Perfect Prey, I’m joined by Professor Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, Professor of Intersectional Justice at University College London (UCL), whose research examines coercive control, legal entrapment, institutional abuse, migration, and human rights. Together, we explore how coercive control extends beyond intimate relationships and into family court systems, why protective mothers and children often experience institutional betrayal, and how legal systems can unintentionally reinforce abuse rather than prevent it. We also discuss the Hague Convention, children's voices in family court, and why meaningful reform must begin by listening to survivors. What we cover •Coercive control beyond intimate relationships •Family court as a form of institutional abuse •The Hague Convention and international custody cases •Legal entrapment and human rights •Why children's voices are often misunderstood •Joan Meier's research on child abuse allegations •The misuse of parental alienation allegations •Why systemic reform is urgently needed Why listen If you're a survivor, protective parent, clinician, attorney, researcher, or advocate, this episode offers a powerful human rights perspective on coercive control and family court abuse. Professor Ayeb-Karlsson shares how research can help expose institutional failures and create meaningful change for women and children. Guest bio Professor Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson is Professor of Intersectional Justice at University College London (UCL). Her research focuses on legal entrapment, intersectionality, coercive control, migration, human trafficking, exploitation, and mental wellbeing. She has published more than 100 academic works, including over 50 peer-reviewed articles, with more than 17,000 citations. Professor Ayeb-Karlsson leads the Everyday Disasters and Violences Research Group at UCL and previously served as a Senior Researcher with the United Nations University's Migration Section. She also leads the mental health and intersectionality work for the Lancet Countdown, is a core member of Hague Mothers and the Council of Europe's Network of Specialised Lawyers and NGOs Assisting Women Victims of Violence, and serves on several international editorial boards. Connect with Professor Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson UCL Profile https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/87069-sonja-ayebkarlsson Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kM8LTfkAAAAJ&hl=en Instagram https://www.instagram.com/profayebkarlsson LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-sonja-ayeb-karlsson-67692676/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profayebkarlsson/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@profayebkarlsson Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/profayebkarlsson.bsky.social Most of Professor Sonja's research articles are available free of charge. She regularly shares free article downloads on her Instagram, including papers that cannot otherwise be made open access due to journal restrictions. Connect with Dr. Christine 🩵 Protective Parenting Program: https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/services/for-parents/ Official Website: https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrCocchiola-coercivecontrol/videos TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.c_coercivecontrol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol/ TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp2qByKOue4&t=24s Books: Framed https://url-shortener.me/c/FramedBook Every Moment of Every Day https://url-shortener.me/c/EveryMomentOfEveryDay If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, share it with someone who may benefit, and leave a review. Your support helps more survivors, professionals, and protective parents find these conversations. — Dr. Christine Cocchiola & Professor Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson 🔸Follow Dr. Christine on IG: www.instagram.com/dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol 🔸Visit her website: https://coercivecontrolconsulting.com 🔸Become a Certified Trauma-Informed Protective Parent in this intensive educational program with an option for LIVE coaching/support to guide protective parents as they navigate the stormy seas of parenting a child who has been coercively controlled. 🔸Sign up here: https://go.drcocchiola.com/accelerated2-selfstudy

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We wake up to the news that we have just lost yet another young mother to the family court system. She saw her two children removed and then fought desperately to maintain the care of her newborn who finally was removed too.

“Violence keeps our minds frozen - entrapped in a state we desperately want but cannot escape!” @profayebkarlsson #metoofamilycourt #coercivecontrol #traumaresponse #entrapment #silencingwomen

Whenever in doubt, remember you are not alone. Whenever you feel depleted, remember we are half of the global population. Whenever silenced, remember they cannot silence us all! #sisterhood Repost @womenscircleonline #resistthepatriarchy #resisters #speakupforthevoiceless #motherearth🌍

@profayebkarlsson, Word of The Day: FEMICIDE [noun] The killing of a woman because she is a woman. #familycourtdictionary #genderedviolence #femicide #knowledgeispower #metoofamilycourt

Mother Earth Knows The Depth of Child Loss - Child Removal Is Torture 💔 Repost @livingearthtv This is one of the longest documented mourning behaviors ever observed in wild whales. #Orca #motherhood #childremoval #enlessgrief #childloss

“Silence is the perpetrator’s greatest weapon!” @profayebkarlsson #metoofamilycourt #coercivecontrol #legalentrapment #lawfare #silencingwomen

Repost @visomkamparforvarabarn Professor Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson är en av de absolut främsta forskarna i världen på intersektionell rättvisa. Hennes forskning visar tydligt på de brister som finns inom familjerättssystemet och det går helt i linje med vad vi som organisation ser.

”If your voice held no power they wouldn’t try to silence you.” Keep Speaking! 💜 Repost Danielle @womenscircleonline #resistance #womeninspiringwomen #femaledivine #powerinwomen #speakforthevoiceless

@profayebkarlsson, Word of The Day: FEMINISM [noun] The simple belief that women should be afforded the same rights, opportunities and treatment as men. #familycourtdictionary #lawfare #legalentrapment #knowledgeispower #metoofamilycourt

“To grieve the loss of a child who is still alive!” @profayebkarlsson #metoofamilycourt #childremoval #legalentrapment #endlessgrief #custodyloss

🚨BREAKING TODAY: Two Swedish boys, 10 and 11, removed by the State funded police. Dressed in civilian clothes but armed with guns. removing children by force as ordered by the family court. A boy screaming in distress for two hours that his father beats him.

Gardnerorwellian [adj.] First coined by Ayeb-Karlsson (2024) to describe a totalitarian and dystopian legal system controlled by the ‘parental alienation’ industry (blending “Gardner” and “Orwellian”).

The Law Becomes A Weapon of War! @profayebkarlsson #lawfare #metoofamilycourt #legalentrapment #coercivecontrol #familycourt

2.7 Million: We are reaching a wider audience. Knowledge Is Power. Keep raising awareness and ensure that all in dire need of research can has access. Follow. Share. Respost. @profayebkarlsson I aim to ensure that my research publications and resources are free…

“She risks becoming a ‘Hague Mother’. She risks losing custody and contact with her child, potentially forever.” Friday 13.02.2026, Opening Keynote, Family Court Crisis Event in the UK by @fcmommabear #UnbreakableSoul #MeTooFamilyCourt #changefamilycourt #legalentrapment

Note of The Day: #changefamilycourt @profayebkarlsson #metoofamilycourtsweden #legalentrapment #metoofamilycourt #lawfare

”We must not accept that our courts are being used as powerful tools of lawfare against women and children fleeing violence and abuse.” - Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson (@profayebkarlsson) #metoofamilycourtsweden #metoofamilycourt #lawfare #legalentrapment #changefamilycourt

@profayebkarlsson, Word of The Day: LAWFARE [noun] The strategic use of legal systems, institutions, or proceedings to intimidate, hinder, or cause problems for an opponent, effectively using law as a weapon of war (blending “law” and “warfare”). #familycourtdictionary #lawfare

CHANGE FAMILY COURT -Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson (@profayebkarlsson) #metoofamilycourt #changefamilycourt #motherserased #legalentrapment #metoofamilycourtsweden

“In the USA, human trafficking is recognized as a public health crisis, with more than 218 000 victims identified since 2007.” -Ayeb-Karlsson and Valiquette 2026 doi.org/10.1016/S0140-… #HumanTraffickingandExploitation #TheTrumpDoctrine #aworldfreeofexploitation #modernslavery

”Women and children are dying in the context of family court - reform cannot wait.” -Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson (@profayebkarlsson) #metoofamilycourt #changefamilycourt #motherserased #homicide #suicide

“We Must Not Fear Calling Out What Is Unjust, Also When It Will Not Help Us Personally, Or Else How Can We Expect Others To Stand Up For Our Rights When The Tables Turn.” -Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson (@profayebkarlsson) #standupspeakup #sisterhood #fightthegoodfight #womensrights

“Russell Brand: Children Cannot Consent.” - @profayebkarlsson I have no interest in whether the legal age of consent was met with a day, hour or minute. I am concerned by anyone raising that argument.

Throwback to the @rokssverige conference on the legal weaponisation of Parental Alienation and other pseudoscientific labels in family court. Stay tuned, video recording of the presentations coming soon. Some recommended reading of my research and work in Swedish and English.

“If she asks for protective measures, if she asks for a confidential address, if she tells the school about the violence the children have experienced, she becomes an ‘alienator’.” -Prof Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson (@profayebkarlsson)

🚨ATTENTION - RESEARCH SUPPORT 🚨 Last year, l put out a call for any public records related to family court associated filicides that have occurred in the context of ‘parental alienation’ allegations. I am extending that call to suicides (children, mothers, fathers).

“Russell Brand: Exploitative Sex IS Sexual Violence.” - @profayebkarlsson #metoomovement #childsexualexploitation #russellbrand #speakupspeakout #accountability

Did you think the company of dogs is just pleasant as they are cute? Guess again. Research shows that the company of dogs, stroking, cuddling, breathing with them, help our nervous system settle. #petsarefamily #healingjourney #domesticviolenceawareness #empathyandkindness