I’m sure many of you have seen Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. In the off chance that you haven’t, it’s an American crime/drama television series that has been on probably since before you were born. Seriously, the series is working on it’s 17th season and has aired almost 400 original episodes.
Based and filmed in New York City, the show follows the lives of detectives of the Special Victims Unit in a fictional version of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. While fictional, the show tackles very real incidents of rape, sexual harassment, assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, etc. Some of the more recent episodes have tackled rape culture and racially motivated hate crimes, following an eerily similar storyline to some of the more widely circulated stories and crimes that have made headlines this past year. Whether it be rape on college campuses, racially charged police brutality, child pornography or an FBI bust on a human trafficking ring, Law and Order: SVU has tackled it all over the many years it’s been on the air.
Lead detective (and now Sergeant), Olivia Benson is perhaps the most badass character on the show. Played by actress, Mariska Hargitay, Benson is one of the most compassionate and strong female leads who manages a squad of mostly male detectives. Oh and also? She has no time for rapist or misogynist bullshit whatsoever.
In fact, a new survey conducted by marketing agent Trailer Park in partnership with research consultancy QC Strategy found that Twenty-one percent of the 1,200 survey respondents named Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) as their favorite female character on television. D’nae Kingsley, head of integrated strategy at Trailer Park, suggests that Benson is popular because she falls at the center of a Venn diagram. “Audiences love stories about elite detectives and top lawyers, women solving mysteries involving their own families, women getting revenge and women with special powers or abilities,” says Kingsley. Kingsley further notes that Benson possesses a set of traits that female viewers see in themselves and want to see on television but that rarely show up in existing fiction.
So Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson is a beloved television persona. However, Mariska Hargitay as Mariska Hargitay is no less badass. In 2004, Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation. The foundation’s mission? To transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end violence forever.
If this woman isn’t “living her brand,” I don’t know who is. Hargitay says that the content of the scripts, as well as the work she did to prepare for her role as Benson, opened her eyes to the epidemics of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. What really hit home for Hargitay however, was the fan mail she received: the letters didn’t say, “I love your show. Can you send me an autographed picture?” They said, “I was raped when I was fifteen. I’m forty now and I’ve never told anyone.” Survivors were disclosing their stories to her, many for the first time.
Since 2004, Joyful Heart has raised over $28 million to support programming and directly served more than 15,000 individuals. Additionally, they have connected with over 3.1 million individuals through their website and social media efforts. The Foundation as also actively been involved in effecting policy changes in jurisdictions from New York to California.
Mariska Hargitay Speaking in Detroit about the Rape Kit Backlog
Hargitay continues to advocate for survivors and made the backlogging of rape kits the Foundation’s priority four years ago. In May of this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a criminal justice bill that included a provision to eliminate the heavy backlog of rape kits awaiting testing.
While this is a milestone, there is still a lot that needs to be done nationally to create a safer and more responsive culture for women and survivors.
Luckily for us, Mariska Hargitay has assigned herself to the case.
Referenced Reads:
America’s Ideal Female Television Character is Olivia Benson
Advocates Praise Senate Bill On Sexual Assault Victims Rights
