Why don't courts offer mediation to victims of domestic violence getting a divorce? By Mary Adkins
The woman who David Paterson may have intimidated from going to court wasn't married to David Johnson, the Paterson aide she says choked her and smashed her into a dresser. But for every five married women, one is married to an abusive spouse. Domestic violence brings women to court seeking protective orders, as in the Paterson mess—and also divorces. But when women who say they've been beaten up try to end their marriages, they find themselves at a disadvantage. In family court, they probably won't be offered mediation—the cheaper, less antagonistic alternative to litigation.
By denying this option to women who report spousal abuse, the state is trying to protect them. That assumption, which came out of the battered women's movement 20 years ago, made some sense at the time. But it no longer does.
Virtually every state today offers some form of court-sponsored mediation to couples seeking divorce. Introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mediation grew popular for fairly straightforward reasons. It costs less than litigation—couples save upward of 40 percent in attorney's fees. It does not require lawyers. And it's faster, saving money for the state as well. More importantly, research has shown that mediation leads to less bitterness, keeping the period of conflict short, which is better for children. Research also suggests it yields better outcomes for both parties, though better in different ways—women get more property and more financial support, while men are more likely to get shared custody or more visitation time with children.
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