Europe Unites to Reimagine Child Safety and Coercive Control: Celebrating 20 Years of the Safe & Together Model

LONDON, Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On 10–11 February 2026, leading voices in domestic abuse prevention, child protection, family law, and social care will gather online for the European Coercive Control & Children Conference, hosted by the Safe & Together Institute via Zoom Events.

This two-day virtual event will bring together practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and advocates from across Europe to share learning, strengthen collaboration, and explore innovative practice to address coercive control and improve child and family safety.

The event marks the 20th anniversary of the Safe & Together Model—a framework that has revolutionised child protection and domestic abuse practice in more than a dozen countries. For two decades, the Model's child-centred, survivor-aligned, and perpetrator-focused approach has supported tens of thousands of professionals to keep children safe and families together while increasing accountability for those who choose to use violence.

This year's speakers include:

• David Mandel, founder and CEO of the Safe & Together Institute, reflecting on two decades of global systems change and the Model's future focus on local collaboration, digital innovation, and leadership on men's behaviour, trauma, and perpetration.
• David Challen, renowned domestic abuse campaigner, sharing his lived experience as a child survivor and the lasting impact of coercive control on children and families.
• Maya Badham, founder and CEO of Loop and The Centre for Animal Inclusive Safeguarding, discussing how perpetrators use companion animals as part of coercive control and why animal-inclusive safeguarding is vital to whole-family responses.
• Rasha Hamid, Safe & Together Institute training consultant, leading a workshop on perpetrator visibility, systemic gaps, and improving multi-agency responses through better perpetrator data.

"Across Europe, agencies and practitioners are transforming their work through a perpetrator pattern–based lens," said Mandel. "This conference celebrates that progress while strengthening our shared commitment to collaboration and innovation."

The programme includes sessions focused on:

• Domestic Abuse–Informed Practice: Tools to help practitioners assess risk, improve case planning, and embed perpetrator accountability in everyday practice.
• Family Law: Reframing coercive control as a parenting and child safety issue to improve outcomes in courts and family services.
• Multi-Agency Teams: Moving from fragmented responses to integrated, trauma- and violence-informed systems grounded in behavioural analysis of harm.

To learn more and register, visit safeandtogetherinstitute.com/2026EUCCC.

About the Safe & Together Institute
The Safe & Together Institute is a global leader in domestic abuse–informed training, consulting, and implementation support. Founded in 2006, the Institute's mission is to create, nurture, and sustain a global network of professionals and organisations working to improve systems' responses to domestic violence when children are involved. The Safe & Together™ Model provides a framework for partnering with domestic abuse survivors and intervening with perpetrators to enhance the safety and well-being of children. The Institute has trained thousands of professionals across the globe, working with child welfare systems, family courts, advocates, and other stakeholders to develop domestic abuse–informed practices and policies. For more information, visit https://safeandtogetherinstitute.com.

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