Power and gender in family mediation
| dc.contributor.author | Britton, Barbara Jean | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-13T00:06:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-13T00:06:10Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1992 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 1992 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Sociology | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Mediation has been promoted by some theorists as a large step forward in the consensual resolution of family disputes, providing positive benefits for both participants in the process. In particular, mediation is believed to offer a less adversarial approach to resolving family conflict than the existing adjudicative system. One of the strongest purported benefits of mediation agreements is that power is balanced during mediation, leading to a process that promotes fair and equitable settlements for both women and men. However, statistics indicate that marriage breakdown can have serious financial consequences for women. Feminists question whether the state's investment in maintaining gendered power relationships may also extend to the process of family mediation. This thesis investigates the experiences of women and men who participated in family mediation in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Using qualitative analysis, the participants' narratives are used to explore how power might enter and affect the process and outcome of mediation. Their experiences of power are then theorized in relation to patriarchal hegemony in Canadian society today. Although power was very present in the process of mediation for the participants in my study, its expression did not always mirror gender ideology. The complex interplay of the law, power, gender, and the beliefs and values of the participants and mediators showed that power for the participants was contextual. At the same time, however, the process and outcome of mediation were influenced by laws that do not recognize structural differences between women and men in Canadian society. The results of this research complement the developing body of theoretical literature on power in family mediation. | en |
| dc.format.extent | 181 pages | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17090 | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.subject | UN SDG 5: Gender Equality | en |
| dc.title | Power and gender in family mediation | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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