The dynamics of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) pose a risk to the safety and self-determination of parties to a mediation. As a field, ADR practitioners have acknowledged that screening for IPV prior to mediation is critical, but do mediators have the resources and support to identify IPV and modify their sessions accordingly? In this report, RSI explores the gap between "best practices" when it comes to IPV and the reality of what mediators are actually doing, and the opportunity for technology to address these deficits. By analyzing the current landscape of screening protocols, surveying practitioners and convening a group of experts in the fields of IPV survivor advocacy and mediation, we concluded that mediators, particularly ones who are new to the field or mediate only intermittently, would benefit from a tool which provides a guided screening interview to assist them in deciding whether a mediation should proceed and which adaptations would be beneficial. To have the greatest impact, this tool would need to be available free of cost and require minimal training. This report serves as a blueprint and includes the features and next steps to develop this proposed tool.
This report was prepared by Resolution Systems Institute with support from the Family and Interpersonal Resilience and Transformation (FIRST) Fund