Revista da EMERJ - V. 22 - N.1 - Janeiro/Março - 2020

23  R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 22, n. 1, p. 11 - 26, Janeiro-Março. 2020  relationship. In such occurrences, trial might offer a better gua- rantee to compete on equal footing. The very young story of fa- mily mediation, and the issue of unbalanced power among the parties are among the elements that made it unsuitable to envi- sion it as compulsory measure. Thanks to the fact that family mediation has remained out- side the European Directive of 2008, no specific constraints were established for mediation providers and no lists or registers were created for mediators, unlike what happened with civil and com- mercial mediation. However, the training and formation of fami- ly mediators is extremely selective: family mediators usually ap- proach this profession in a more mature phase, often because the preferential requirements consist of psycho-social and legal trai- ning. Women represent the vast majority of family mediators 14 , and the most common educational background is that of a social worker or psychologist. However, here too, there are no full-time mediators, as professionals tend to keep their original job, and to exercise family mediation only as a complement to their primary career. Moreover, as in other sectors, the demand for mediation services is low in comparison to the offer. Despite this, the success rate is considerably higher. A recent study estimated that among the spouses sent to fami- ly mediation in Italy, around 80% actually started a mediation process, and, of these, nearly 95% attained good or excellent results, with the achievement of all or most of the objectives listed in the agreement under which the mediator has been hi- red. With the introduction of an ‘assisted negotiation’ procedu- re in 2014 15 , borrowed from French legislation, lawyers have a further collaborative tool to resolve disputes by independently promoting mutual consent between the parties, especially tho- se concerning family law. When a settlement is agreed upon, following the assisted negotiation procedure, it is no longer ne- cessary to go to court in order to obtain a divorce. Finally, with 14 Studies from 2012 testify that more than 90% of the mediators in family disputes are women. Data can be found at http://www.associazionegea.it/la-diffusione-della-mediazione-familiare-in-italia-materiali- -approfondimento/ (accessed July 13th, 2018). 15 Legislative Decree n. 132/2014 converted by Law n. 162/2014.