With over almost 30 years’ experience in the domestic violence and child welfare fields, this week’s guest David Mandel is focused on improving the way we identify and respond to domestic violence, particularly relating to children.

David has written or co-written numerous journal articles, book chapters and white papers including his most recent ones on how perpetrator intervention program completion certificates can be dangerous for survivors, and on worker safety in the context of domestic violence.

David and the Safe & Together Institute have worked with governments and NGOs in Canada, the US, Australia, Asia, and United Kingdom. David hopes that his work ends the use of a “failure to protect” mentality in domestic violence cases and helps systems better work with complex cases involving mental health issues, substance misuse and domestic violence.

In today’s podcast, David joins us to discuss the Safe & Together Institute's Model for change, widely used across the globe and by diverse government and NGO agencies across Australia. The perpetrator pattern-based approach helps identify harm to child, partner, and family functioning, supports partnering with survivors, and delves into intervention strategies with perpetrators.