Choosing Child-Inclusive Mediation

Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal, Vol. 23, pp. 253-264, 2012

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 14/53

27 Pages Posted: 19 May 2014

See all articles by Felicity Bell

Felicity Bell

University of New South Wales

Judith Cashmore

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Patrick Parkinson

University of Queensland

Judi P. Single

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Date Written: May 19, 2014

Abstract

Fourteen parents who had undertaken child-inclusive mediation, and a comparison group of 19 parents who had engaged in mediation without their children being involved, were asked about their views on utilising child-inclusive mediation to assist in the resolution of their disputes concerning parenting arrangements after separation. Most of the comparison group had not been offered the option of child-inclusive mediation either because it was not available in their area, or because the children were too young, or for other reasons, but would have chosen it had it been offered. Parents gave five reasons for wanting child-inclusive mediation. These were: the therapeutic benefit for the children in talking to someone; finding out how the children were feeling; giving the children a voice in the resolution of the dispute; to gain assurance that what the child was saying to that parent is the same as he or she would say to an independent person; and helping the other parent to hear what the child wanted. This research demonstrates the importance of providing clearer explanations to parents about what the purpose of child-inclusive mediation is.

Keywords: parents, children, mediation, child-inclusive, dispute resolution, children’s voices

JEL Classification: K10, K30

Suggested Citation

Bell, Felicity and Cashmore, Judith and Parkinson, Patrick and Single, Judi P., Choosing Child-Inclusive Mediation (May 19, 2014). Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal, Vol. 23, pp. 253-264, 2012, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 14/53, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2438538

Felicity Bell

University of New South Wales ( email )

Faculty of Law
UNSW
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

Judith Cashmore

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

Patrick Parkinson (Contact Author)

University of Queensland ( email )

Forgan Smith Building
The University of Queensland
St Lucia, Queensland 4072
Australia

Judi P. Single

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
345
Abstract Views
1,819
Rank
159,857
PlumX Metrics