Hestia’s Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Prevention team partners with emergency services across the UK to provide confidential, specialist support for staff affected by domestic and sexual abuse. Our work currently spans multiple services, including police forces such as Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Nottinghamshire.

National recognition

Our Everyone’s Business programme is recognised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner as a model of good practice for workplace responses to domestic and sexual abuse. We provide:

• Dedicated IDVA/ISVA services
• Policy development and review
• Specialist training tailored to emergency services nationwide

To strengthen sector-wide learning, we host biannual national roundtables welcoming representatives from 43 forces as well as the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC), the College of Policing and NPCC. Topics for discussion include counter-allegations, Federation responses, vetting reform, and insights from the Casey Review, Angiolini Inquiry, and Operation Onyx.

Influencing change from within

Alongside direct support for survivors, Hestia works with specialist teams within emergency services, including the Professional Standards Department (PSD), Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences Team (DASO), Operation Onyx, and Operation Assure. Together, we:

• Advocate for survivors of staff-perpetrated abuse
• Influence internal policies and accountability measures
• Strengthen survivor-centred approaches within investigations

Our ISVA team also collaborates with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit to ensure consistency and accountability in case handling.

Building Knowledge and Confidence

We invest in prevention and culture change by delivering:

• “Language Matters” workshops for client-facing staff
• IDVA/ISVA awareness sessions for new recruits at Hendon Police College
• Contributions to forums such as the HEAL DA group, supporting emergency service staff affected by recent judicial reviews
  
  

Together with our emergency service partners, Hestia is driving forward a coordinated, survivor-centred response to domestic and sexual abuse in emergency services.

If you would like to find out more about our work with emergency services, please get in touch with the Everyone’s Business team at [email protected].

---

You may also be interested in…