VOCAL Research Project

About the project

Project Members:

• Dr Connie Healy
• Professor Andrew Simpkin
• Ms Anna Caulfield

Mediation is a voluntary process in which a neutral mediator works with disputing parties to facilitate a mutually acceptable agreement. It is considered particularly effective in the resolution of family law cases, removing them from an acrimonious court setting and enabling separated parties to craft a settlement that is tailored to their family’s needs. In recognition of this, the Family Mediation Service (FMS) was established in 1986, providing free mediation to separated couples. In 2011, the FMS was taken over by the Legal Aid Board.

Despite the holistic, family centred premise, the evidence suggests that the voices of the children of the relationship are rarely heard during the mediation process.

There may be several reasons for this:

• lack of knowledge of the right of the child to be heard in matters that affect them;
• an attitude that parents know what is in the best interests of their children and will act accordingly;
• fear by parents or mediators that children may be harmed by engaging, and
• from the service provider’s perspective, lack of funding to train mediators in child-inclusive practice.

In numerous research projects, however, children of separated parents have advised that they wish to be consulted and given the option to express a view. They are often the ones most directly affected by potentially avoidable misunderstandings, lack of information and explanation.

The aim of this research is to speak to parents, children and mediators to identify underlying fears or concerns held and address any barriers. The research provides an opportunity for direct input from children on how the process could be more child-friendly and inclusive. Children will also be given the opportunity to develop age-appropriate information that will assist children who experience parental separation in the future.

The VOCAL project is an interdisciplinary research project, funded by Research Ireland (COALESCE), led by Dr Connie Healy, School of Law, and CO-PI, Professor Andrew Simpkin from the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, both of University of Galway, assisted by Anna Caulfied (Research Assistant) and undertaken in collaboration with the Legal Aid Board, as project partners. Ethical approval has been received from University of Galway, Research Ethics Committee.

Should you have used mediation to resolve your family law issues and wish to find out more about the project or contribute to the research please contact Connie.Healy@universityofgalway.ie

How to participate

The VOCAL project is looking for parents who have gone through the mediation process, whether or not they reached an agreement through it, to participate in its research. You are also being asked to consider allowing your child to participate in the research. We are hoping to involve children aged between 10 and 18 to participate in the research. It is not a requirement that these children have been directly involved in the mediation process.

What will it involve?:

1. If you decide to participate in this project, you will be asked to complete a ten-minute-long survey. You will be asked about your experiences of mediation, as well as your perception of child inclusive mediation.

2. After this, you can opt to participate in an interview in which you will have a chance to elaborate on their experiences and views.

Participation for your child, if both you and your child consent, will involve the completion of a short survey. They will also be invited to a focus group with other children of a similar age to speak about a fictional case and make recommendations based on it.

If you would like to participate, please follow this link to the survey: https://forms.office.com/e/sA4eSZgJS8 

 or scan the QR code below

Your rights

It is important that you understand your rights when participating in academic research. Your participation is on a completely voluntary basis, and you may withdraw of the research at any time. Your rights in relation to how your data is stored, processed and protected, your right to withdraw form the research, and information on how the findings will be disseminated are detailed below.

What is the lawful basis to use my data? 

By law,¹ the University of Galway relies upon the following legal basis for processing personal data: 

CONSENT 

Informed written consent. Informed written consent will be collected all participants.  

• The consent of the data subject, collected pursuant to GDPR Article 6 (1) (a) and Article 9 (2) (a), provides a legal basis for the processing of the data being collected as described above.   

How will my privacy be protected? 

All personal² data and other information collected will be stored in an encrypted file in a secure location and used for research purposes only. The funder or project partners will not have access to the personal data collected. All personal identifying information will be anonymised by the University of Galway research team and processed as group data, and you will never be identified in any published research findings. No comments made during interviews or focus groups will be attributed to any individuals and no information except in a generalised, anonymised format will be provided to the Legal Aid Board. 

The University of Galway researchers are professionally bound to uphold your confidentiality. 

All data collected by University of Galway as part of this project will be processed in accordance with the University of Galway Data Protection, Data Classification, Data Retention and Data Handling policies. Records will be retained for the duration of the research project (until the work is fully reported and disseminated) plus seven years, in keeping with the University Record Retention Schedule and Guidance QA442(2020). 

Do I have to participate? 

All participation in the project is entirely voluntary. However, if you change your mind you can withdraw from this research at any time before, during or directly after the consultation, prior to the data being subsequently analysed.  

What will happen with the results of the research? 

The research findings and recommendations will be written up in a report and published with the intention of informing best practice in protecting children’s rights and participation during the mediation process. The research findings may also be published in academic journals.  

Please contact Connie if you have any questions or concerns and require any further information. I can also be contacted for a copy of the published research findings.

E-mail: Connie.Healy@universityofgalway.ie or Phone: 091 493341 

What are my rights in relation to my data being processed? 

You are entitled to: 

• The right to access to your data and receive a copy of it; 

• The right to restrict or object to processing of your data; 

• The right to object to any further processing of the information we hold about you (except where it is de-identified); 

• The right to have inaccurate information about you corrected or deleted; 

• The right to receive your data in a portable format and to have it transferred to another data controller; 

• The right to request deletion of your data. 

By law you can exercise the above rights in relation to your personal data, unless the request would make it impossible or very difficult to conduct the research. You can exercise these rights by contacting the lead PI. Dr Connie Healy at Connie.Healy@universityofgalway.ie 

If you have any questions in relation to any aspect of this research, please contact Connie at the email previously outlined. 

Who can I contact if I wish to make a complaint about how my data is being processed? 

If you wish to make a complaint about how your child’s data is being processed you can contact the University of Galway Data Protection Officer 

Contact Details for University of Galway Data Protection Officer: 
The Data Protection Officer,  
University of Galway, Room A129,  
The Quadrangle,  
University of Galway,  
University Road,  
Galway  
Email: dataprotection@universityofgalway.ie 

Tel: (091) 524411 

Under GDPR, if you are not satisfied with how your data is being processed, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commission. 
Contact Details for the Data Protection Commission: Telephone: +353 57 8684800 
+353 (0)761 104 800  09:15 - 17:30hrs (17.15 Friday) 
Lo Call Number: 1890 252 231  
Fax: +353 57 868 4757 
https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/contact/how-contact-us 

Ethical approval

This project has received ethical approval from the University of Galway, Research Ethics Committee in October 2024, with Application number 2024.10.008. If you would like to receive a copy of this, please contact Connie at connie.healy@universityofgalway.ie.