Shuttle and Online Mediation: A Review of Available Research and Implications for Separating Couples Reporting Intimate Partner Violence or Abuse

Whether family law cases with a history of severe intimate partner violence and/or abuse (IPV/A cases) should have the option of settling family-related issues using mediation is the subject of significant debate. Recommendations for potentially safer ways to mediate IPV/A cases have been developed, including shuttle and online mediation. Given the current lack of research on these forms of mediation with IPV/A cases, we review the research on shuttle and online mediation in other contexts and theorize how the findings might apply to IPV/A cases. We argue that, although online and shuttle mediation may benefit IPV/A cases, aspects of these procedures require special considerations.