Approximately one in three women and one in ten men experience domestic violence during their lives.1 In addition, one in four women and one in twenty-six men in the United States reported a completed or attempted sexual assault at some point in their lifetime, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey report.2 Domestic violence and sexual assaults are significant public health issues that police routinely encounter in their profession.
Domestic violence cases, specifically, can be dangerous for police to respond to. According to data from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted database, 57 officers were feloniously killed while either responding to a domestic violence call or encountering a domestic incident after arriving at the scene between 2011 and 2020.3 To help combat and more effectively respond to these crimes, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is excited to announce the launch of its newest Learning Collaborative on Proactive Approaches to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (Learning Collaborative). This innovative program is designed to enhance the capabilities of police professionals, agencies, and other stakeholders in addressing domestic violence and sexual assault cases.
What Is the Learning Collaborative?
The Learning Collaborative is a structured program consisting of seven one-hour virtual sessions that started in March 2025 and will continue until September 2025. These sessions are tailored for police professionals, including sworn personnel, victim service providers, trainers, and others, who are committed to improving their agency’s response to domestic violence and sexual assault cases. The goal of the Learning Collaborative is to help agencies develop and implement strategies that improve police responses to domestic violence and sexual assault, increase victim involvement in investigations, improve case outcomes, and foster greater community confidence and trust.
With support from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the IACP, along with subject matter experts, including the National Center for Victims of Crime, provide participants with insights and strategies for handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases. These sessions include facilitated discussions between participants and subject matter experts to provide a safe space for peer-to-peer learning and information sharing.
Participating agencies also review and work through each section of the Enhancing Community Trust: Proactive Approaches to Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Self-Assessment to develop a tailored action plan.4 This assessment was created as part of a larger toolkit under an OVW grant awarded to the IACP in 2016 and is designed to assist agencies in comprehensively evaluating their strengths and challenges when responding to and investigating domestic violence and sexual assault cases. This tool guides agencies through a series of steps to review their policies and practices, training, data collection and analyses, hiring and promotional practices, and agency culture around responses to and knowledge of these crimes.
The toolkit also includes an accompanying community assessment that aims to support police agencies in developing and reinforcing community- or system-level partnerships that promote collaboration and apply lessons learned to enhance police responses. Other resources in the toolkit include a sample outreach letter to community organizations, an action planning guide, and additional considerations and resources.
How to Get Involved
Currently, the Learning Collaborative has over 75 participants from more than 30 agencies.
Agencies interested in joining the Learning Collaborative are invited to fill out a brief interest form to apply. Though the Learning Collaborative launched in March 2025, new participants can join at any time.
Help the IACP make a difference in enhancing the response to domestic violence and sexual assault in our communities. Together, we can create safer environments and support victims more effectively.d
Notes:
1Karisa K. Harland, Corinne Peek-Asa, Audrey F. Saftlas, “Intimate Partner Violence and Controlling Behaviors Experienced by Emergency Department Patients: Differences by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36 (2021): 11-12, doi: 10.1177/0886260518812070.
2Kathleen C. Basile et al., The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Sexual Violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).
3Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA),” FBI Crime Data Explorer, accessed on March 27, 2025.
4International Association of Chiefs of Police, “Enhancing Community Trust: Proactive Approaches to Domestic and Sexual Violence,” toolkit, November 2020.
Please cite as:
Carolyn Meissner, “A New Learning Collaborative,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 92, no. 6 (June 2025): 62-63.
