The Council will hold a hearing this morning on a bill that would address how D.C. police handle sexual assault cases and treat survivors.

The Sexual Assault Victims’ Rights Amendment Act of 2013 was prompted by a January Human Rights Watch report that alleged the Metropolitan Police Department was mishandling investigations and shaming victims. A June review by law firm Crowell & Moring found the report to be flawed, but said it did result in positive changes. (Police Chief Cathy Lanier, however, said the HRW report showed a “deliberate bias” against MPD.)

“The SAVRAA includes a number of critical recommendations to support survivors of sexual assault and improve MPD’s handling of sexual assault cases, including increasing the confidentiality between survivors and victim advocates; improving the processing of sexual assault forensic examination kits; strengthening MPD’s accountability; and granting sexual assault victims the right to have a trained sexual assault victim advocate present at medical and law enforcement proceedings,” a release from the Sexual Violence Response and Prevention Council (SVRPC) Legislation Project says.

The project provides support to the D.C. Rape Crisis Center’s state sexual violence coalition “to improve public policy and systems addressing sexual violence in the District.” Members include Collective Action for Safe Spaces the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“MPD still needs to restore the public’s confidence through oversight and transparency,” Julia Strange, CASS’ director of policy, said in a statement. “If the D.C. community perceives that MPD is not taking these crimes seriously, survivors might not feel comfortable reporting sexual assaults.”

Advocates and survivors will testify at today’s hearing, which begins at 11 a.m.

In August, the city launched the app ASK D.C., which pools resources from 33 different agencies to assist survivors of sexual assault or partner violence and those looking to assist them.