The D.C. Council unanimously passed the Sexual Assault Victim’s Rights Amendment Act of 2013 on Tuesday in the first of two rounds of voting required for the act to be signed by Mayor Vincent Gray. The legislation focuses on improving how the Metropolitan Police Department investigates cases of sexual assault and treats survivors.
Among other reforms, the act designates a spot on the city’s Sexual Assault Response Team for a representative from D.C.’s university community.
“This is important because we know that this is a crime that disproportionately affects college students,” said Marisa Ferri, an organizer at the D.C. Justice for Survivors Campaign working on SAVAA. According to Ferri, the representative will most likely be a professional employee of a university.
The legislation also gives sexual assault survivors the right to a victim advocate, which is someone trained in survivor’s rights, during hospital exams and police interviews. Previously, a survivor could have been denied access to an advocate in both situations.
“What this legislation does is make sure a survivor can have a standard at the point of being assaulted,” said Sherrell Gordon, executive director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center.
The city council will have to vote for the SAVAA again in May before it reaches Gray’s desk, but Gordon said she is “extremely confident” it will pass and be signed into law.
