QUT QUT ePrints

"Convincing the Policy Makers that Mediation is Often an Inappropriate Dispute Resolution Process for Women: A Case of Being Seen But Not Heard"

Field, Rachael M. (2001) "Convincing the Policy Makers that Mediation is Often an Inappropriate Dispute Resolution Process for Women: A Case of Being Seen But Not Heard". National Law Review.

Full text available as:
PDF (Author-version) - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer.

Abstract

The disadvantages that exist for women participants in mediation have now been acknowledged for some time. Hilary Astor’s 1991 position paper for the National Committee on Violence Against Women was thorough and clear. Power imbalances make mediation a potentially unjust dispute resolution process for women, and one of the most crucial indicators of a serious power imbalance is a history of violence. Yet in the year 2000 mediation is still touted as a more humane and appropriate dispute resolution process than litigation, particularly for family disputes. This paper considers the implications for women of policy imperatives to encourage the use of mediation in family matters. It reiterates the reasons why women, and particularly women survivors of violence, should never be forced to participate in the process and queries how we can better encourage policy makers to act on the knowledge that for women informal justice is often no justice at all.

Item Type:Journal Article
RM Number:0020020162
Status:Published
Subjects:Subjects UNSPECIFIED
ID Code:6267
Deposited By:Field, Rachael
Deposited On:22 February 2007
Alternative Locations:http://pandora.nla.gov.au/parchive/2001/Z2001-Mar-13/web.nlr.com.au/nlr/HTML/Articles/field/field.htm, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/10130
Copyright Owner:Copyright 2001 LawNow
Copyright Statement:The contents of this journal can be freely accessed online via the journal’s web page (see link).