Claims, counter claims and mitigation : a reconceptualisation of intergenerational family mediation

O'Sullivan, A

Abstract

This thesis offers a critique of the dominant model of intergenerational family
mediation practiced in the United Kingdom. Its key aim is to avoid the essentialist
tendencies of gender scholars within the mediation community. The government
report 'More than a roof (DTLR, 2003) outlined the need for new approaches to
homeless prevention such as intergenerational family mediation. Following this report
a statutory duty was placed on local authorities to carry out homeless reviews and to
formulate strategies to prevent youth homelessness (Smith, 2003). A new priority
need group was created in the subsequent housing legislation. It consisted of those 16
and 17 year olds who were not owed a duty of care from social services, whose
familial relationships were under strain. These 16 and 17 year olds were now to be the
focus of interventions such as intergenerational family mediation, to rebuild family
relationships rather than allocating them alternative accommodation. At this juncture
intergenerational family mediation became an instrument of policy choice in the
context of youth homelessness, rather than housing provision.
The introduction of intergenerational family mediation in the context of youth
homeless prevention is still relatively new. I argue that the importation of such a
process into homeless prevention strategies has been undertaken with little
understanding of intergenerational family conflict, or intergenerational family
mediation in practice. The broad aim of this thesis is to further our understanding of
intergenerational family mediation. Through my own analysis I highlight that
intergenerational family mediation as currently practiced is a process that further
subjugates already marginalised individuals.
I argue that the narratives protagonists tell in the context of intergenerational family
mediation are not 'about' conflict. I show that these narratives 'in' mediation function
to co-construct accusations of breaches of gender norms, and mitigation in response to
such accusations. My work takes on board this co-construction by placing myself as
audience in relation to the text, alongside a simultaneous analysis of the influence of
dominant gendered discourse that pre-exist the text. Thus this thesis has important
contributions to make to both theory and practice of intergenerational family
mediation. Through making an alignment with an ethno-methodologically informed
narrative analysis I argue that gender identity, or subjectivity, is shaped by the
'meaning' people give to their experiences through locally co-constructed narratives
(Bruner, 1990). Informed by a post structural feminist perspective I argue that these
local narratives are in turn constrained (Butler, 1990) by dominant normalising
discourses (language and cultural practices).
Key Word: Gender, Narrative, Discourse, Family Conflict

Citation

O'Sullivan, A. Claims, counter claims and mitigation : a reconceptualisation of intergenerational family mediation. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2011