Youth Victim-Offender Mediation

Nearly a year ago, Marcia received a frantic call from her teen daughter, Denise. Denise was at school and had been in a fight at the end of the school day. Marcia rushed to the school to find a chaotic scene. Her daughter, four teenage girls, and a mother of one of the girls were all recovering from a physical fight. Denise told her mother that she had been attacked by two of the girls, that her friends had tried to help her, and that an adult had also gotten into the fray. Marcia was furious and called the police. She pressed charges against two of the teenagers and one of their mothers.

Over the coming months all five teenagers and their mothers spend time dealing with the consequences of the fight. The school held a peace circle, but not everyone was able to attend, and it was not rescheduled. There were multiple court cases and charges against each of the teenagers and the one mother who had been involved in the fight. Eventually, the case came before a judge in Cook County’s Juvenile Justice Division who had recently heard an update on CCR’s mediation programs. All ten parties (five mothers and five teenage daughters) were referred by the judge for mediation.

CCR scheduled the session for a virtual mediation so that everyone could participate from the privacy and convenience of their own home. CCR assigned two mediators to the case – one to work primarily with the mothers and one to work primarily with the daughters. They began the session using an early caucus check in for each individual family. These conversations helped prepare the participants for the process. Eventually, the session began with all ten participants in the same zoom room. The mediators helped review the incident that had brought everyone to mediation, helped set goals for the time in session, and then the groups separated.

The teenagers were quick to identify how challenging the consequences had been for the fight. They all agreed that things had gotten out of control and that they wanted to find a way to move past the incident. There were two friend groups in the room and they were not interested in all becoming friends as part of a resolution, but they were able to identify the ways they wanted to communicate with one another during their final year of high school. They all wanted respect and the mediator helped them identify specific behaviors and expectations they had for one another.

The mothers were all very frustrated with their experience with each other, the school, and the court system. Early in the session, the mother who had participated in the fight asked if she could speak. The mediator gave her space and she told everyone she wanted to clear the air. She explained that it had never been her intention to get involved in the fight, but that she had been trying to separate the young women when the physical altercation escalated. The other women in the room were understanding and thanked her for being candid. The women all shared how hard the situation had been for their daughters and what a big impact the situation had on their homes and families.

With the creation of a neutral space, the mediation gave the mothers the chance to get clarity on what was happening with their daughters. As the women talked, it became apparent to everyone that there were more than a few misunderstandings that had taken place between the two groups of teenagers. They agreed that their daughters did not need to become friends but that they needed to leave each other alone and be respectful. They all agreed that things can happen in high school among groups but it should never have gotten to the level of such a serious altercation. They were united in their dismay with the schools handling of the situation as they had not given their daughters any real guidance in how to manage the situation. The mothers discussed that this mediation was their chance and responsibility to help and guide their daughters. They concluded their session by drafting a document with their email addresses and agreed that they would communicate via email with each other should any new issue arise.

When both groups gathered again they shared their plans for moving forward. Then just as the mediation with both groups was coming to an end, Marcia and Denise both spoke again to say that that they did not want any of the other teenagers or women to have a police record. Everyone was really relieved to hear them say that and they agreed to take their plan to the court and update the judge. The mediation gave the 10 voices an opportunity to dialogue and engage with one another. After months of confusion and powerlessness, they were able to leave their mediation session with a plan to move forward.