What is an IDVA, ISVA and IIDSVA?

An IDVA is an Independent Domestic Violence and Abuse Adviser, sometimes called an Independent Domestic Violence and Abuse Advocate. The sector title is usually shortened to Independent Domestic Violence Adviser, but we always write it out in full. We work from a coercion and control model, which understands domestic abuse as a pattern of power and control rather than a series of violent incidents. Naming the abuse alongside the violence keeps the whole pattern in view, including the harm that leaves no physical mark. IDVAs give independent, specialist emotional and practical support to people who have been harmed by domestic abuse, whether or not they have reported to the police. Since May 2025 the role has been recognised in statutory guidance issued under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.

An IDVA works with a survivor to understand the risks they face and what they need, and then builds a plan for their safety alongside them. That can mean supporting them through the criminal and civil courts, speaking up for them in multi-agency meetings such as MARACs, and linking them with housing, health, legal and financial support, so that the survivor is not left to navigate each system on their own.

An ISVA is an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser. ISVAs give independent, specialist emotional and practical support to people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse, at any point in their life and whether or not they choose to report.

An ISVA gives a survivor clear information about their rights and options, including reporting, and supports them through the criminal justice process, from the first police contact through to court and beyond. They assess needs and risks with the survivor, help other professionals understand the survivor's perspective, and make sure the survivor's own choices stay at the centre of every decision.

Both roles provide independent, survivor-centred advocacy. An IDVA specialises in domestic abuse, while an ISVA specialises in sexual violence and abuse. In practice the two often overlap, because sexual violence is frequently part of domestic abuse, which is one reason we train advocates who can hold both.

An IIDSVA is an Intersectional Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Advocate. It is the advocacy role at the heart of our training, bringing domestic and sexual violence advocacy together and grounding it in the Friedom Framework, our model of intersectional and anti-racist practice.

Intersectional advocacy recognises that a survivor's experience of abuse, and of the services meant to help them, is shaped by race, gender, class, disability, sexuality, immigration status and the ways these overlap. Building on the work of many Black feminists and on Black feminist praxis, our Friedom Framework works across three connected branches: independent advocacy with the survivor, institutional advocacy that challenges the systems they have to navigate, and synergised advocacy, where what we learn on the frontline drives change in those systems.

Most domestic abuse frameworks were designed around white, Western and heteronormative experiences, and they often fail survivors whose lives do not fit that mould. Racialised survivors face compounded barriers to safety and justice, so advocacy that does not account for them can reproduce the harm it is meant to address. As the Friedom Framework puts it, if the advocate is not intersectional and anti-oppressive, their work will not lead to the justice, protection and freedom of all peoples.

An IIDSVA carries out the core work of both roles, including risk and needs assessment, safety planning and court support, and does so through an intersectional lens. Alongside casework, an IIDSVA documents and challenges the institutional barriers their clients meet, asking both how they can help this survivor and how they can change the system so it does not harm the next one.

Most people come into IDVA work from related roles such as support work, housing, social care or the voluntary sector, although lived experience and a strong commitment to survivors matter as much as a particular background. Statutory guidance expects IDVAs and ISVAs to hold, as a minimum, a Level 3 regulated qualification relevant to the role, and many employers will support new advocates to complete one once they are in post.

The statutory guidance for IDVAs and ISVAs sets a Level 3 regulated qualification as the minimum, covering areas such as risk, case management, trauma-informed practice and the criminal and civil justice systems. It also expects advocates to keep learning in the role and to receive regular clinical supervision.

Accredited IDVA and ISVA qualifications usually carry a fee, which is often paid by the advocate's employer or commissioner. Some providers offer subsidised places, and it is worth asking your employer whether training is funded through your service. We also run free sessions and share free practitioner tools, so you can experience our approach before committing to the full IIDSVA programme.

Learners work towards the OCN London Level 3 Certificate in Domestic Abuse: Prevention and Early Intervention, with the Level 3 Diploma available as an enhancement. Alongside the core domestic abuse units, every learner completes the accredited units Understanding the Role of an Independent Domestic Violence and Abuse Advisor (IDVA) and Responding to Victims of Sexual Violence (ISVA), so they leave able to work across both areas of practice.

The programme runs over 21 training days, with three days each month on a Monday, a Wednesday and the following Monday, from 10am to 4.30pm. The next cohort starts on Monday 2 November 2026, is delivered live online, and finishes in May 2027.

The standard rate is £2,400 per learner, and discounts are available, so please get in touch to talk through what applies to you or your organisation. We also deliver closed cohorts for teams, in the room or in a hybrid format.

The IIDSVA is for people working, or preparing to work, with survivors of domestic and sexual violence and abuse, including IDVAs, ISVAs, outreach and advocacy workers, and practitioners in related services who hold risk. It suits anyone who wants to build a practice that is intersectional, anti-racist and accountable to the survivors most often failed by systems.