Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Child custody mediation in cases of domestic violence: empirical evidence of a failure to protect
Other Titles:	Violence against women
Authors:	Saccuzzo, Dennis P Johnson, Nancy E Koen, Wendy J
Keywords:	Family law;Screening
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	11 (8)
Notes:	This article presents findings of a US study that empirically evaluated outcomes of mediation of child custody disputes in cases of domestic violence. The Family Court in San Diego, Southern California was studied. The sample contained 200 randomly selected non-domestic violence (non-DV) reports and 200 randomly selected domestic violence (DV) reports. The study found that mediators failed to recognise and report domestic violence in 56.9% of the domestic violence cases. Evidence of criminal justice involvement and other clear indicators of domestic violence did not increase the odds that domestic violence will be acknowledged. Consistent with the view that the mediator may lose sight of domestic violence because of the presence of substance abuse or psychiatric treatment, the findings show that mediators reported substance abuse or psychiatric treatment but failed to acknowledge DV. The family court’s screening form failed to indicate DV in at least 14.7% of the violent cases. Mediation resulted in poor outcomes for DV victims in terms of protections such as supervised visitation and protected child exchanges. Joint legal custody was recommended in the majority of DV cases, more so than in non-DV cases. Mediators recommended joint physical custody with the same frequency in DV and non-DV cases. Mediators recommended primary physical custody for the father significantly more often in DV cases than in non-DV cases. Documented concerns about the mother’s safety had no bearing on the likelihood that the mediator would recommend supervised visitation and there was a higher percentage of protected child exchanges when there were no indicators of DV. Results suggest that child custody mediation should not be mandated in cases of domestic violence, and also question the capacity of mediators to focus on the child’s best interest
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13783
ISSN:	1077-8012
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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