When the Courts Fail Survivors with Professor Dale Margolin Cecka

The legal system is supposed to protect survivors. Professor Dale Margolin Cecka is here to talk about why it often doesn't.

In this episode, Behk & LAH sit down with Professor Cecka — Director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic at Albany Law School — for one of the most important conversations this podcast has ever had. She brings decades of legal expertise to the questions survivors are asking in real time: Why isn't the court protecting me? Why are my children still at risk? Why does the system keep failing us?

Professor Cecka breaks down the difference between reactive violence and calculated patterns of control — a distinction that changes everything in a legal context. She also unpacks the ways reproductive justice and family court are more connected than most people realize, and where the gaps in legal protection leave children and teens the most exposed.

This one is essential listening — for survivors, for advocates, and for anyone trying to understand why leaving is legally complicated in ways that have nothing to do with courage.

Narcissists, Gaslighters, & Cheaters, Oh My! — real folks, real stories, survival & healing.

Professor Cecka's Featured Writings:

• USA Today – “Diddy trial and Macron shove reveal our blind spots about domestic violence” (June 2, 2025) — In this striking op-ed, Professor Cecka explores how high-profile cases expose dangerous societal blind spots regarding abuse. Albany Law School+1
• Governing – “The Fatal Consequences of Giving Violent Men Access to Their Children” (October 25, 2024) — A sharp look at how family courts’ custody decisions can put children’s lives at risk. Governing Albany Law School
• Salon – “How ‘It Ends With Us’ Gets Domestic Violence Wrong” (August 21, 2024) — A critique of how popular culture simplifies and misrepresents the realities of intimate partner violence. Salon.com
• Albany Law School
• People’s World – “VAWA Is 30, But Are We Still Failing Survivors?” (October 30, 2024) — A reflective commentary marking three decades since the Violence Against Women Act. peoplesworld.org

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of toxic behavior, narcissistic abuse, and any topics that may disturb some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

Behk and LAH are not doctors or therapists. Nothing shared on this podcast should be taken as medical or professional advice.

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Hosts: Behk & LAH

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