Partnered with a Survivor: David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel
This podcast is a series of conversations.
What started as a series of intimate conversations between Ruth and David that ranged from personal to professional experiences around violence, relationships, abuse, and system and professional responses which 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 which 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.
Have an idea for a podcast? Tell about it here: https://share.hsforms.com/1l329DGB1TH6AFndCFfB7aA3a1w1
Partnered with a Survivor: David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel
Season 3 Episode 4: Reproductive Coercion
Reproductive coercion is part of a perpetrator's pattern of coercive control and is a common and powerful tool that is used to entrap & control victims using pregnancy & children. Forcing women to become pregnant & maintain a pregnancy has long term implications for women & children's lives.
Not only do adult survivors suffer the consequences, but children are used as pawns . In this way, reproductive control can be thought of as a form of child abuse and neglect. In many instances, domestic violence perpetrators do not become abusive until their partner is pregnant and unable to leave them easily or safely.
Against the backdrop of the recent leak of a draft United States' Supreme Court ruling attacking a women's right to autonomy over their own bodies, David & Ruth discuss reproductive coercion in the context of domestic violence including:
- coercion & pressure to become pregnant or maintain a pregnancy
- sabotage and manipulation related to birth control
- control over the pregnancy and birth
In a sometimes raw, far ranging conversation, David & Ruth examine the intersection of domestic violence and reproductive coercion; violence during pregnancy; history of the English Judge, cited 9 times by Justice Alito in his draft ruling, who instructed juries not to believe women's reports of rape; and the need for more work with men around pregnancy, reproductive respect and birth control.
Now available! Mapping the Perpetrator’s Pattern: A Practitioner’s Tool for Improving Assessment, Intervention, and Outcomes The web-based Perpetrator Pattern Mapping Tool is a virtual practice tool for improving assessment, intervention, and outcomes through a perpetrator pattern-based approach. The tool allows practitioners to apply the Model’s critical concepts and principles to their current case load in real
Check out David Mandel's new book "Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to transform the way we keep children safe from domestic violence."
Visit the Safe & Together Institute website
Start taking Safe & Together Institute courses
Check out Safe & Together Institute upcoming events