Divorce Mediation: A Feminist Perspective

Abstract

The author contends that while divorce mediation is a highly appealing idea, its current form of practice and conception will likely have a detrimental impact on many women. Divorce mediation is discussed as part of a more general trend towards alternative dispute resolution. The motivations underlying mediation, the various methods of practicing it and the problems some of these methods pose are canvassed. The impact of power inequality and the ideal of the neutrality of the mediator are explored in detail from the point of view of their negative consequences for women. Various critiques of mediation are presented and the conclusion argues that a more sophisticated understanding of the dynamic of power is required in order for mediation to serve the interests of women.