VOZES QUE IMPORTAM: a escuta da criança e a perspectiva de gênero na Mediação Familiar institucionalizada pelo Poder Judiciário

Abstract

This study critically analyzes family mediation in child custody disputes, investigating how this instrument, though conceived as a means of humanization and social pacification, can reproduce gender inequalities and silence the child’s voice within the institutional practices of the Brazilian justice system. Using a qualitative and exploratory approach, the research is based on bibliographic and documentary analysis, linking contemporary Family Law to Sociology of Law and Feminist Theory. Drawing on authors such as Mary Beloff, Emilio García Méndez, Kátia Maciel, and Maíra Zapater, the study demonstrates that the effectiveness of the child’s best interest principle depends on overcoming adult-centered perspectives and incorporating concrete mechanisms for child participation and listening. The conclusion highlights the need for emancipatory mediation, committed to gender equality and sensitive child listening, proposing the institutionalization of practices such as playful interviews led by multidisciplinary teams, mandatory mediator training in children’s rights and gender, and the adoption of national protocols for qualified child hearing. Thus, mediation can move from a space of invisibility to one of emancipation and child citizenship.