Access to justice for women in Nigeria: a sociolegal analysis of family mediation

“It is amazing how little true communication takes place during the litigation process and conversely how much each side learns about the other side`s case and what the real issues are when they take part in mediation”. -Alexander Bevan1 Family mediation as a process of dispute resolution for women is not a topic that has generated particular jurisprudence in Nigeria, not for lack of importance but appears to have been overlooked by society. If there is a family dispute, there are accepted channels of resolution which involve informal and formal procedures. How these procedures affect women’s rights and access to justice is the reason for this study. My motivation for this study has been my experience as a family dispute mediator for over 20 years during which time I witnessed the helplessness of women in the resolution of family disputes. The lack of freedom of some women to express their desire in their choice of dispute resolution process or have their interests protected during resolution of family disputes is the crux of this study. In most of the cases, the women experienced informal mediation due to its accessibility and familiarity and not because it is their preferred method of dispute resolution. The process is often regulated by members of the family or people whose impartiality might be questioned. Existing literature is yet to capture the absence of women’s choice in the mode of dispute resolution they contend with during informal mediation and the enforcement of agreement from the mediation therein. Therefore, the aim of this research is to verify through empirical evidence, the availability and outcome of family dispute resolution choices for women and the position of family mediation in the legal consciousness of women. The methodology chosen for this research is the mixed method which comprises of the legal, feminist, and social research methods. The research philosophy for this study is the pragmatic approach to allow flexibility and adoption of the best methods in the conduct, analysis, and interpretation of the primary work. In adopting the socio-legal research methodology, the research is focused on exploring the experiences of women in Nigeria who seek to resolve family disputes through family mediation: this is the original contribution to knowledge made by this thesis.