The Sexual Assault Victims’ Rights Amendment Act of 2014 (SAVRAA) is the result of survivor and systems advocacy efforts to improve the District of Columbia’s response to sexual assaults. The new law provides specific rights for survivors of sexual assault, victim-centered guidance and regulations for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other system actors, and defined a clear continuum of services for survivors of sexual assault.  An Independent Expert Consultant was statutorily required to report on its implementation for a period not to exceed two years.

 

The review of the Independent Expert Consultant has found that the spirit and intent of the law were being implemented at MPD for at least a year before the law took effect, and that the department has fully implemented the letter of the law.