West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) was established within Worcestershire in 1986 as a telephone support service for women only.
Services expanded gradually to include counselling support and the launch of the first Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) within the West Mercia Police area in 2007.
2011 saw the expansion into Herefordshire with support from the Ministry of Justice’s New and Emerging Centre Initiative. In 2013, we were able to extend our advocacy services to men, children and young people (aged 11+), with the counselling service being extended in 2015.
In 2016, both the counselling and advocacy services began supporting children from the age 5 years, in 2019 services were established in Shropshire and in 2020 Purple Leaf (our early intervention and prevention arm) started assessing and working with children who had exhibited problematic/harmful sexual behaviours.
2023 saw the launch of their wellbeing hub and client portal, as part of their vision to eliminate all forms of sexual violence and the harm they cause.
Suppliers to the Pluggin West Mercia buying region (Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire) can now support the WMRSASC impact and sustain how they underpin the Police & Crime Plan objectives/National Pillars.