Elisabeth Olds, the SAVRAA Independent Expert Consultant responsible for monitoring compliance with the Sexual Assault Victims’ Rights Amendment Act of 2014 and making recommendations for improvements, would like to hear from as many survivors as possible who experienced a sexual assault in the District of Columbia after January 1, 2014.

The goals of her interviews and focus groups is to hear firsthand from survivors about their experiences with reporting to law enforcement – both good and bad – and hear their perspectives about what needs to change about that process to make it more victim-centered, and what would be most helpful to survivors in the process, such as advocates, information and resources.

Interviews and focus groups are completely confidential and no names or specific case details will be revealed. Survivors’ perspectives are central to this evaluation and can help create a law and a system that provides maximum benefit to other survivors in the future.

Elisabeth will be convening a focus group Thursday, July 9th at 6pm at 600 I Street NW. If you are a recent survivor of sexual assault, please consider sharing your experiences with Elisabeth in this confidential setting. There will be a licensed social worker available on site for anyone that requires additional support during the conversation.

Please feel free to disseminate this notice widely.

For additional information, please contact the DC Justice for Survivors Campaign at dcjusticeforsurvivors@gmail.com.