Mediation Practice: Resolving a Long-Term Neighborhood Conflict Arising from Disputes Between Children
- Jan 19, 2025
- 2 min read
Within a mediation process initiated upon the recommendation of the Free Secondary Legal Aid Service, a conflict situation is examined between two neighbors — Olha (mother of a 3rd-grade student, Veronika) and Yuliia (mother of Veronika's classmate, Artem, who also works as a teacher at the same school).
Core Conflict and Parties' Positions:
Olha's Position: Reports systematic aggression and physical abuse by Artem against her daughter during their first two years of school. The conflict escalated after Yuliia and her son moved into the same residential complex, where a recent physical altercation on the playground left Veronika bruised. Olha expressed intentions to take radical actions, including appealing to court and the juvenile affairs commission.
Yuliia's Position: Explains her son's past behavior as a difficult adjustment period at school, which the family addressed by hiring a child psychologist and later transferring the boy to a parallel class, where his behavior normalized. Regarding the playground incident, Yuliia noted that Artem was provoked and taunted by a group of girls due to his past reputation, and his actions were an emotional reaction in self-defense.
Mediation Progress and Interim Results:
Family mediator Mariia Prokopchuk introduced the parties to the fundamental principles of the process: confidentiality, voluntariness, neutrality, and self-determination. During the joint session, a visual chart was developed outlining key topics for discussion: establishing communication between the mothers, ensuring safe interaction between the children, and defining mutual steps to stabilize the situation.
The joint discussion helped lower emotional tension and revealed new circumstances surrounding the playground incident, leading to constructive preliminary agreements between the parties (additional conversations with the children and resuming work with a psychologist).
How exactly did the mediator manage to de-escalate the tension, help the parties hear each other, and encourage the first steps toward an agreement? Watch the full recording of the mediation simulation in the embedded video below.
