In a process called mediation, a person trained as a mediator helps two (or more) people resolve a conflict or disagreement. The conflict being resolved might be as simple as who should pay for a damaged locker. Or it might be as complex as which parent should receive custody of a child in the case of a divorce. In either situation, mediation involves solving the dispute through peaceful means. The mediator, however, does not simply listen to the conflict and draw up the terms of a solution; the people with the conflict (the participants or disputants) do that. In addition, it is the participants, not the mediator, who enforce the agreed-upon solution.

The mediator plays a special role. He or she doesn’t decide what is right or wrong or find people guilty or innocent, as a judge would in a courtroom. Instead, the mediator tries to help the disputants find and agree upon a peaceful way to resolve their conflict.

Youth in Action Bulletin

March 2000     Number 15