MANDATORY MEDIATION OF CUSTODY IN THE FACE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE |
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| Authors: | Jennifer P Maxwell |
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| Institution: | Jennifer P. Maxwell, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Applied Conflict Management at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, and has taught conflict theory and intervention skills at the university level for the past 20 years. She is a board-certified expert of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, a practitioner member of the Academy of Family Mediators, and a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution. Her research focuses on the dynamics of power disparity and oppressive violence in interpersonal relationships, the effects of coercion and trauma on victims of violence, and the assessment and development of intervention and prevention strategies. |
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| Abstract: | Mediation is frequently mandated as a first step for custody, visitation, and divorce cases. As a process that requires a balance of power between participants, mediation is not an appropriate method to resolve domestic violence disputes, a phenomenon that reflects profound disparities in power between the perpetrator and the victim. Of all marriages referred to court-based divorce and custody/visitation mediation programs, 50% to 80% involve domestic violence. This raises very serious questions about mandatory mediation. This article considers the effects of domestic violence on the mediation process. It questions the use of mandatory mediation and suggests ways that mediators might recognize and respond to domestic violence. |
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