Report on the project “Family Mediation in the Time of War”, 2023-2024
NGO “League of Mediators of Ukraine”
for the period from July 01, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
For the second year in a row since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, this project has been providing mediation services free of charge to Ukrainian families facing profound changes in their lives and relationships due to the war: forced displacement within the country, emigration due to hostilities, uncertainty, long-lasting periods of separation, especially when one of the family members is in the area of active hostilities. These circumstances often lead to degradation of family relationships and occurrence of family conflicts (disputes).
In the second year of the project: 35 family mediators with many years of practical experience conducted family mediation for all Ukrainians who sought help for peaceful conflict resolution. There were also 4 supervisors and 4 psychotherapists working in the project. Project Manager and Supervisor - Tatyana Bilyk.
The project has become an important resource for families seeking recovery and harmony despite the ongoing challenges posed by the war. In these circumstances, when family conflicts may escalate due to stress and uncertainty, mediation becomes a key tool for finding mutually acceptable options for conflict resolution, taking into account the needs of all family members and in the best interests of children. Agreed decisions reached in mediation are more lasting and effective because they are made by the parties to the conflict themselves and tend to be better adhered to.
Family mediations carried out during the project:
· 179 cases (541 meetings with families, 711 Ukrainians received assistance during the year of work)
· 149 of them with indirect and direct involvement of children
· totally, mediators completed 925 hours of work on engaging conflicting parties in mediation and conducting mediation procedure.
The main requests for family mediation:
Ø divorce and separation conflicts, including cross-border conflicts;
Ø intergenerational conflicts (between parents and children);
Ø inheritance disputes.
In relation to restoring communication and searching for agreements on:
· marital relationship and marriage dissolution;
· termination of relationship between persons living as one family;
· determining the child's place of residence;
· parenting and child support payments;
· child's going abroad;
· management of joint property;
· division of the spouses' joint property;
· recovery of alimony;
· deprivation of parental rights;
· inheritance;
· relationship of guardianship and custody;
· relationships between family members, relatives, etc.
The main channels to apply for mediation:
· Social services (Centers for Social Services for Families Children and Youth, Children’s Social Services, Social Service Centers)
· free legal assistance
· LiMU website and social media pages
· private practice of the project’s family mediators
During the year of the project, family mediators have enhanced their professional development and received training on the following topics:
1. Master classes on Parental Alienation or Resistance to Contact by Lisa Parkinson (UK), two 2-hour sessions
2. Workshop “Dynamics of polarization” by Bart Brandsma (Netherlands), 2 hours
3. Webinar “Restorative Justice” by Iryna Fedorych (Ukraine), two 2-hour meetings
4. Webinar “Psychology of the Power Mediation” by Thomas Piko (Germany), 2 hours
5. Webinar “Trauma informed approach in mediation” by Samanta Hardy, two 2-hour meetings
6. Webinar-workshop “Effective Co-mediation” by Tetiana Bilyk (Ukraine), 2 hours
7. Webinar “The Circle of Conflict” by Christopher Moore, 2 hours
8. Workshop “How to Take Care of Yourself in Stressful Situations” by Stephen Kotev (USA), 2 hours
9. Webinar “The Benefits of Reflective Practice and Reflective Practice Groups” by Michael Lang (USA), Susan Terry (USA), Beibhinn Byrne (Ireland) and Frances Stephenson (Ireland), 2 hours
10. Webinar on The Impact of Parental Alienation by Jorge Guerra (Germany), 2 hours
11. Webinar “Crossing Boundaries through Mediation” by Arthur Trossen (Germany), 2 hours
12. Webinar “Visualization Methods” by Svitlana Myronenko (USA), two 2-hour meetings
13. Webinar on The Peculiarities of the Elderly Mediation by Frances Stephenson, Brian O'Nelli (Ireland), 2 hours
14. Training “Hibuki Therapy for Mediators Working with Children”, Daphne Sharon (Israel), four 3-hour meetings.
15. Training “Transformative Mediation”, Marianne Souquet (France), four 4-hour meetings.
Throughout the year, family mediators participated in monthly psychological support groups and supervision groups with international and Ukrainian supervisors. In addition, there were also monthly simulations held in various specializations, intervisional meetings on topical issues, and a literature- and movie-club has been working giving mediators the opportunity to read professional literature together, exchange ideas with colleagues, and develop professionally.
Supervision and psychological support for mediators:
1. 1 group supervision was conducted by an international expert Lisa Parkinson (UK), 2 hours
2. 4 group supervisions were conducted by an international expert Marianne Souquet (France)(each meeting of 1.5 hours)
3. 1 group supervision was conducted by an international expert Arthur Trossen (Germany), 2 hours
4. 50 group supervisions were conducted by Ukrainian specialists (each meeting of 2 hours)
5. 48 psychological support groups were conducted by Ukrainian specialists (each meeting of 2 hours)
Issues identified during the work of mediators:
1. Lack of understanding by the conflicting parties of mediation procedure as a peaceful way to resolve conflicts (disputes): low level of awareness of the country's population about the benefits of using mediation in case a family conflict (dispute) occurs or as a proactive way to prevent it.
2. Lack of family mediators in social centers and interest of various bodies and services in the field of protection of children's rights and interests in providing mediation services.
Professionals working with family conflicts often do not have sufficient knowledge to recommend mediation.
Conducting training for lawyers, social workers, psychologists and other professionals who deal with family conflicts (disputes) in their work is important with the aim of raising awareness of mediation procedure, understanding its concept, principles and formats of conducting it in family conflicts (disputes), forming an understanding of the expediency of using mediation by persons in conflict, realizing possible common ground and constructive interaction with a mediator to effectively resolve conflicts (disputes), informing the parties to the conflict about mediation as an alternative way of resolution.
3. Emotional load during the family mediation procedure: high levels of stress and emotional pressure during mediation, especially in the context of general anxiety, require additional efforts and resources from all participants of the procedure. It is difficult for the conflicting parties to agree on the future due to the uncertainty of the situation in the country, especially when one of the parents is at the front. Unstable Internet connection, power blackouts, lack of premises for mediation, and breaks due to air-raids make it difficult to conduct mediation meetings across the country.
4. Increasing number of cross-border family conflicts (disputes), and these always face a number of difficulties: long distance between family members, interaction of different legal systems, and limited time, as there is always a risk of one of the parents losing contact with the child.