The Sexual Assault Victims’ Rights Amendment Act, a bill that addresses how D.C. police handle sexual assault cases and treat survivors of sexual assault, passed the final vote of the D.C. Council earlier today and will now be passed along to Mayor Gray to sign into law (and, of course, the requisite Congressional review period).

First introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) last year, the bill provides victims of sexual assault with certain rights when police are handling their cases, including the right to have an advocate present during hospital and police interviews, the right to information about rape kits and toxicology reports, notification when Metropolitan Police Department officers contact suspects, and more.

Wells introduced the bill after a grassroots coalition led by sexual assault survivors, the D.C. Justice for Survivors Campaign, formed “in response to evidence of police mismanagement of sexual assault cases in the District,” a release states.

“This legislation means that those who report sexual assault in the District can expect that their cases will be followed through as efficiently as possible, and that they will be treated with fairness and respect,” Sherelle Hessell-Gordon, D.C. JSC organizer and Executive Director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, said in a release.