Issue 7. First Half 2011

The following article is a reflection upon the controversy surrounding possible family mediation as a valid option for most couples involved in cases of gender violence. Despite the current prohibition to mediate in cases of gender violence established in the current Organic Law (LO in Spanish) 1/2004, a growing number of experts in various fields have criticised this ruling. The article will seek to approach the issue from a scientific standpoint, analyzing the phenomenon of gender violence and its impact on the mediation process, in order to finally set some guidelines to be followed in those cases that could use mediation as a conflict resolution tool, especially conflicts that are normally sorted out in family courts.

A great number of gender violence complaints that are made in Specialised Courts specialised, pursuant to the Organic Law 1/2004 on Measures for the Integral Protection against Gender Violence, are eventually filed. Filing a complaint means that the legal record is also filed, but this does not necessarily mean that a conflict has ended, as it can even be worsened after the complaint was made. Facilitating mediation procedures in these cases, requested by the Court itself, can be a useful tool for the people that face this situation, as women feel their legal assistance request is taken care of, providing the family members with the opportunity to build up an effective satisfactory and preventive solution freely and consciously made by the parties concerned on the basis of mediation.

 The victims’ silence in a process makes sometimes impossible to sentence apparently criminal facts in matter of violence against women. This article intends to critically analyse the scope of the so-called dispensation of testifying, the newest jurisprudence on the matter, and the proposals for legislative reform.

This article intends to reflect about the possibilities for the use of mediation in cases of domestic violence; it is by no means intended as a set formula to be applied in all cases, nor by all mediators or in all violent contexts. This is why we have researched some existing experiences of mediation in cases of domestic violence in order to contribute with a different perspective

For many years, victims have fallen into oblivion in penal processes. Their needs of reparation were not attended by the public administration. The Mediation is a conflict resolution tool that is increasingly been used in Spain. However, it has been excluded from the field of the gender violence, in any case and in all assumptions. At this point you can wonder, Is Mediation advisable in cases of gender violence?