About Caroline Bowden Caroline Bowden is a solicitor who works exclusively in mediation. She specialises in all aspects of family law, concentrating especially on financial matters and children issues. Caroline is also an accredited civil and commercial mediator whose facilitation skills acquired from her years of experience in family mediation prove invaluable in the search for solutions in the commercial and civil context. She can offer a fusion of civil and family ways of mediation, adapted on a case-by-case basis, which includes having solicitors directly involved in the mediation where needed. About Anthony Gold Anthony Gold is a leading law firm based in London. The firm’s solicitors specialise in various areas of law and are experts in their fields of legal services. They are negotiators and litigators, committed to doing whatever is best for their clients. Contact Caroline Bowden Consultant Mediator and Solicitor Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP The Cottons Centre, 5th Floor, South-West Hay’s Lane, London SE1 2QG, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7940 4050 E: csb@anthonygold.co.uk www.anthonygold.co.uk what they do and how it came about that they are making contact. In ageappropriate language, they need to explain the confidentiality of the process and what the child’s participation would look like and the fact that it is entirely voluntary. The child should be able to ask questions about the process before agreeing to engage. This is an important stage during which the child must feel a degree of trust and reassurance that what they say will be respected. What measures must be implemented to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of children during and after the mediation process? Accredited mediators are already skilled at working within the parameters of confidentiality with their adult clients. The main difference is to make sure that children understand that there are exceptions to the fact that the child can tell them anything and they will keep their confidence. It is vital that these safeguarding conversations are carefully handled and in a way that is ageappropriate. Are there any significant drawbacks or potential challenges to be taken into account when assessing whether a child ought to be involved in family mediation? There may be reasons why mediation would be unsuited for a family. These might include issues of substance dependency, domestic abuse, vulnerabilities due to a child or parent’s mental or physical ill-health or other needs. Mediators must also look out for referral fatigue, if a child is already being seen by several agencies. An obvious challenge to arranging childinclusive mediation is a reluctance on the part of one or both parents. This can come down to something as basic as cost, as at least one extra meeting is required. There is no additional legal aid payment to make this viable for legal aid providers either. The other common source of reluctance is fear of what the child might say and whether their opinion is authentic or reflecting the wishes of the other parent. Another fear is that the meeting itself may be distressing for the child. One hopes that the skilled mediator would ensure that this is not the case, but it is more likely if the child feels under pressure from one or even both parents to support and echo their views. What advice would you give to a less experienced mediator concerning childinclusive mediation? All mediators accredited with the Family Mediation Council must either be trained in this field, or receive awareness training, so I am not sure I could say much that they have not already heard! To qualify to see children, there are at least 40 hours of learning on both the practical and the theoretical elements of this sensitive role. EXPERT INSIGHT 39 To qualify to see children, there are at least 40 hours of learning on both the practical and the theoretical elements of this sensitive role.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz