Domestic Abuse and Its Impact on Mediation

Many family and divorce mediators are unaware of the impact that domestic abuse has on the mediation process and ultimately the safety of the victim. Often both new mediators and those with vast experience in the field have little or no understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse/violence. Certainly the popular media has addressed the theory of the cycle of violence, and made for TV movies often address domestic abuse/violence, and although most people are familiar with the terms, the family mediator must be especially aware of how this issue impacts this process. They must have a solid understanding of the dynamics, know how to assess for Domestic Violence, decide whether or not the parties are appropriate for mediation and know how to structure a conditional mediation if this method of conflict resolution is deemed appropriate.