Partnered with a Survivor Podcast
Hosted by Safe & Together Institute founder David Mandel, MA, LPC, and his partner and Safe & Together Institute co-owner Ruth Reymundo Mandel, who grew up in an institutional setting where she was subjected to family separation and abuse as a child, Partnered with a Survivor is a series of conversations. What started as intimate conversations between David and Ruth that ranged from personal to professional experiences around violence, relationships, abuse, and systemic and professional responses that harm, not help, has now become a global conversation about systems and culture change.
In many episodes, David and Ruth are joined by a global leader in different areas like child safety, men and masculinity, and, of course, partnering with survivors. Each episode is a deep dive into complex topics like how systems fail domestic abuse survivors and their children, societal views of masculinity and violence, and how intersectionalities such as cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, and unique vulnerabilities impact how we respond to abuse and violence. These far-ranging discussions offer an insider look into how we navigate the world together as professionals, as parents, and as partners. During these podcasts, David and Ruth challenge the notions that keep all of us from moving forward collectively as systems, as cultures, and as families into safety, nurturance, and healing. We hope you join us.
Note: Episodes contain sensitive topics and occasional mature language that may be difficult for some listeners.
Check Out All of Our Podcast Episodes
Season 6 Episode 7: Every Man: A Candid Conversation on Male Violence and Social Change with Jackson Katz
What if ending violence against women isn’t just about asking men to stop bad behavior but also inviting them to embrace a more meaningful definition of strength and leadership? This question forms the heart of our powerful conversation with Jackson Katz, Ph.D., one of the world’s foremost male voices in the movement to prevent gender-based violence.
Season 6 Episode 6: Broken Blue Line: Confronting Officer-Perpetrated Domestic Violence
When Bruce Bieber's phone rang at 2:50 a.m., his world shattered. Three deputies stood at his door with news that his daughter Abby, a dedicated police officer known for her compassion and professionalism, had been murdered by her boyfriend—a fellow officer with a documented history of domestic violence that had been systematically minimized by their department. This powerful conversation exposes the deadly consequences of law enforcement’s failure to address domestic violence within their ranks.
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 4: The Paradox of Proximity: Understanding Domestic Abuse in Rural and Remote Communities
In this episode, David and Ruth speak with Dr. Anni Donaldson about her groundbreaking research examining domestic abuse in Scotland’s rural, remote, and island communities.
Season 6 Episode 3: Rethinking Gender-Based Violence Prevention: A Call to Action with Jess Hill and Michael Salter
In this episode, David and Ruth speak with Australian experts Jess Hill and Professor Michael Salter about their groundbreaking paper challenging current approaches to preventing gender-based violence. With Australia’s commitment to end gender-based violence within a generation, yet concerning increases in sexual violence and domestic homicides, this timely discussion explores why traditional prevention strategies focused on changing social norms and attitudes have fallen short.
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.
Season 6 Episode 1: “Just Leave”: Examining Displacement-Based Responses to Domestic Violence
In this thought-provoking first episode of 2025, David and Ruth explore how displacement-based responses to domestic violence reflect and reinforce gender double standards while often creating additional vulnerabilities for survivors and their children. Recording from the Azores, they examine how the expectation that victims must leave their homes to find safety places unfair burdens on survivors while failing to hold perpetrators accountable.
