How does domestic violence influence the likelihood of settlement in mediation? New data answers old questions

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21274
• Author: Vittorio Indovina,Susan S. Raines
• Date: 01 March 2020
• Published date: 01 March 2020

RESEARCH ARTICLE

How does domestic violence influence the

likelihood of settlement in mediation? New

data answers old questions

Susan S. Raines | Vittorio Indovina

School of Conflict Management,

Peacebuilding & Development, Kennesaw

State University, Kennesaw, Georgia

Correspondence

Susan S. Raines, School of Conflict

Management, Peacebuilding &

Development, Kennesaw State

University, 325 Cobb Ave, Mail Drop

1603, Kennesaw, GA 30144.

Email: sraines@kennesaw.edu

Abstract

This study seeks empirical evidence to answer critical

questions surrounding domestic violence (DV) and

mediation: Are survivors of DV being coerced into

reaching unfair and unsafe agreements? Do all DV

behaviors have the same impact on settlement? Does

stalking predict impasse less than a history of physical

violence? Do survivors feel safe in mediation compared

to adjudication or attorney-negotiated settlement? This

study answers these critical questions in order to

understand which cases are likely to benefit from medi-

ation. This research empowers screeners, mediators,

court employees and attorneys to better discern which

cases are most likely to benefit from mediation.

1|INTRODUCTION

In the relatively early days of divorce and family mediation, back in the 1980's and early 1990's,

many domestic violence (DV

1

) advocates were concerned that mediation would lead to unfair

and coerced agreements (Pearson & Thoennes, 1989; Steegh & Dalton, 2008). In the intervening

decades, mediation has become commonplace even in cases where allegations of domestic

abuse exist (Raines, Choi, Johnson, & Coker, 2016). Yet many of the critical assumptions under-

lying concerns surrounding domestic violence and mediation have not been empirically tested.

Mediation in family law matters has become standard practice in many states and countries,

even when allegations of domestic violence exist (Johnson, Saccuzzo, & Koen, 2005; Raines

et al., 2016). In this article, DV will be also called intimate partner violence/abuse, IPV/A. Most

courts require case screening to determine the presence and severity of IPV/A, including dan-

gerous behaviors that indicate not only actual violence, but also coercive-controlling behavior

which results in intimidation and sometimes fatal violence, such as stalking, harassment, and

Received: 11 October 2019 Revised: 8 December 2019 Accepted: 19 December 2019

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21274

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2020;37:195–205. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 195