With Judge Dina Lioumis, Senior Judicial Registrar Anne-Marie Rice, Gabrielle Cantrall, Anthony Smith, Prof. Rachael Field, David Roberts, Paula Bruce, Fran Doyle, and Sally Lord | Friday, 19 April 2024 | 10am – 5pm AEST | Online
Mediator Responses to Family Violence
Recognising that family violence has occurred is part of the everyday work of all practitioners in family law.
Lawyers and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners need to know what to look for and how to respond to and manage family violence as the challenges unfold.
Mediators are employed to assess for suitability and then assist parties resolve outstanding matters assessed as appropriate, in a way that enables those involved to “negotiate freely” .
This course explores the strategies and processes to develop power balance when mediating in the shadow of family violence.
This full day workshop will aim to:
- Update practitioners on recent legislation including the Family Law Act and national and state coercive control legislation.
- Increase practitioner awareness about domestic violence and the impact of family violence on the mediation process through role plays and discussion groups
- Inform practitioners on how FDRPs and mediators will work between 7 May 2024 (when the legislation changes and the ESPR presumption is removed) and whenever the Full Court hands down decision on the interpretation of the new Part VII.
- Assist practitioners with communication strategies to work with parties and assess where violence has occurred.
- Discuss processes and strategies for best practice in mediation in circumstances where violence has been identified.
- Develop skills in working in a safe and trauma informed way.
Learning Outcomes:
- Receive up to date knowledge in developments in law and research relating to family violence including coercive control.
- Learn step by step assessment techniques including how to work with victims and how to identify patterns of perpetrator behaviour.
- Learn strategies and processes to balance power and best support parties to negotiate freely .
- Learn suitable interventions including process design, logistical considerations, pre-mediation requirements, safety planning and how to work with emotional intelligence to enable best outcomes for vulnerable parties.
Agenda
The topics we will cover include:
| Agenda |
| Welcome and Introduction |
| Dispute Resolution in a Court context: tips for approaches to risk, change and uncertainty |
| The Nature and Impact of Family Violence including references to new legislation |
| Assessment, suitability and safety - Working with Emotional Intelligence |
| Small group discussion with scenarios on assessment |
| Lunch |
| Panel discussion - Strategies and processes to develop power balance when mediating in the shadow of family violence |
| Introduction to Workshops |
| Break |
| Small group discussion - with scenarios (in same small groups as morning session) on developing power balance when mediating. |
| Plenary session discussion |
All participants will receive a full copy of the Resolution Institute FDR Resource Kit as part of their registration fee.
Early bird pricing for members ends on Friday, 05 April 2024.
About the speakers
Judge Dina Lioumis
Senior Judicial Registrar Anne-Marie Rice
Gabrielle Cantrall
Anthony Smith
Prof. Rachael Field
David Roberts
Paula Bruce
Fran Doyle
Sally Lord
Terms and Conditions
Please view our terms and conditions here Read more