Partnered with a Survivor Podcast
Partnered With a Survivor is a professionally focused podcast created and produced by Ruth Reymundo and hosted by the Safe & Together Institute. What began as intimate conversations between Ruth and David Mandel — Founder of the Safe Together Institute and creator of the Safe & Together Model — exploring personal and professional experiences around violence, relationships, abuse, and the systemic and professional responses that too often harm rather than help, has grown into a global conversation about systems and culture change.
Hosted by Ruth Reymundo and co-hosted by David Mandel, the podcast offers deep, professionally grounded discussions about how institutions respond to domestic abuse, gender-based violence, and child maltreatment. In many episodes, Ruth and David are joined by global leaders in areas such as child safety, men and masculinity, perpetrator accountability, fatherhood, and partnering with survivors.
Each episode takes a rigorous look at complex topics, including how systems fail adult and child survivors, how societal narratives about masculinity and violence shape professional practice, and how intersectional factors such as cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, racialised identities, LGBTQ+ experiences, immigration status, disability, and other vulnerabilities influence how we respond to abuse and violence.
The podcast offers an insider lens into how professionals navigate systems as practitioners, as parents, and as partners. Through candid dialogue and critical reflection, Ruth and David challenge the assumptions and structures that prevent meaningful accountability, safety, and healing. The goal is collective movement across systems, cultures, and families toward safety, nurturance, and sustained change.
Note: Episodes contain sensitive topics and occasional mature language that may be difficult for some listeners.
Check Out All of Our Podcast Episodes
Season 7 Episode 4: When Violence Hides In Plain Sight: Expanding Clinical Curiosity to Protect Children with Dr. Norell Rosado
In this episode of Partnered with a Survivor, David and Ruth speak with Dr. Norell Rosado, child abuse pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, about the limits of how child maltreatment is identified in medical settings. While bruises and broken bones often drive diagnosis, neglect remains the most common form of maltreatment—and many serious harms leave no outward sign.
Season 6 Episode 14: Violent Crime & Religion: How Religious Teachings Are Used as Justification for Child Abuse
Religious teachings wield profound influence over family dynamics and human behaviors, sometimes enabling abuse under the guise of spiritual teachings and guidance. This raw and revealing conversation confronts the troubling legacy of religious parenting methodologies that promote violence, rights removal, and coercive control rather than nurturing safe, consensual connection.
Season 6 Episode 8: The Prevention-Response Nexus: Keeping Children Safe While Breaking Cycles of Abuse
Imagine a world where our most vulnerable babies are protected without automatically severing their connection to their family. That’s the vision Lauren Seager-Smith brings as Chief Executive of the For Baby’s Sake Trust, where they’re revolutionizing responses to domestic abuse during pregnancy and early childhood.
This conversation challenges us to think differently about protecting children. Can we create systems that hold those who use violence accountable while supporting their capacity to change? Can we recognize the profound connection between maternal and child welfare without placing impossible burdens on mothers? Most importantly, can we find the courage to invest in prevention, even when immediate crises demand our attention?
Join us for this thought-provoking discussion that reimagines what's possible when we truly commit to breaking cycles of harm and supporting healthy family connections from the very beginning of life.
Season 6 Episode 5: Coercive Control & Children 2025: Conference Insights from Melbourne
David and Ruth share highlights from the 2025 Safe & Together Asia Pacific Coercive Control & Children’s Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Listen in as they reflect on key moments and the impact of bringing together over 400 practitioners from across the region.
Season 6 Episode 2: Coercive Control and Children
In this episode, David and Ruth explore why coercive control must be at the center of how we understand the impact of domestic abuse on children. Moving beyond just focusing on physical violence or whether children “witnessed” abuse, they discuss how perpetrators’ patterns of behavior can devastate children’s well-being in multiple ways.
