Why are some survivors believed while others are doubted, ignored or drawn into political battles not of their making? Drawing on her work as the first woman to serve as United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr. Alice Edwards reflects on the major wars and crises she covered, and asks why investigating sexual violence and torture remains so difficult, and what is lost when human rights principles are applied selectively. She explores how feminist advocacy and survivors’ testimony have transformed international law—and why their voices must lead us toward recognition, justice, rehabilitation and lasting change.
Dr. Edwards is a writer, speaker and international lawyer. She is the first woman to serve as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture from 2022–2026. Across nearly three decades, she has combined legal innovation with practical action, shaping global standards while working directly with governments, institutions and affected communities to advance reform. As Special Rapporteur, Edwards documented the lethal attacks of October 7, 2023, and consistently called on Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to release all hostages. She also called on Israel to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees and to hold those responsible to account. Her report to the Human Rights Council on hostage-taking as torture reopened international debate on this international crime and helped pave the way for the U.N. General Assembly’s 2025 resolution recognizing states’ responsibilities to prevent and prohibit hostage-taking as torture, including its impact on captives and their families.
The Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture Series was created by Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law founder Sylvia Neil and her husband, Dan Fischel, in memory of Sylvia’s late sister, Diane Markowicz, to honor her commitment to gender equality and social justice. The Lecture Series features internationally renowned scholars, judges and activists discussing ways of negotiating the tensions between gender equality and religious or cultural norms. Generously supported by the Sylvia Markowicz Neil and Daniel Robert Fischel Endowment.
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