In a case of life imitating art, Law & Order: SVU 's Mariska Hargitay played an instrumental role in the investigation of over 11,000 sexual assault cases in Detroit, Michigan.
On the August 15 episode of the podcast Dateline True Crime Weekly , prosecutor Kym Worthy talked about how the actress—known for playing Captain Olivia Benson—helped to fund the examination of thousands of untested rape kits found on the shelf in a police evidence room.
As podcast host Andrea Canning told the Today show on August 13, “They found 22 serial rapists among these kits…and they needed money for this effort so who stepped in? None other than Law & Order ’s Mariska Hargitay. She helped them raise the money to get this done and it’s having a ripple effect across the country. It’s making changes everywhere, from police departments to prosecutors’ offices.”
On the podcast, Worthy explained how Hargitay's involvement galvanized her efforts, even testifying in front of Congress about the letters she received from real-life victims of sexual assault.
"She testified about real-life letters she was receiving...and so after we were finished testifying I kind of grabbed her and asked her to come to Detroit and she said she would and she did," Worthy said. "She shows up...I am telling you, that legislation that helped us crack this problem in Michigan sailed through."
Related: Mariska Hargitay Details Harrowing Attack She Faced From 'a Friend'
Hargitay, 60, opened up about her own experiences as a rape victim in a first-person essay for People in January 2024.
"A man raped me in my thirties," she wrote. "It wasn’t sexual at all. It was dominance and control. Overpowering control."
Hargitay's rapist was a "friend," she explained. "Then he wasn't."
"I couldn’t process it. I couldn’t believe that it happened. That it could happen. So I cut it out. I removed it from my narrative," Hargitay continued.
"Now I’m able to see clearly what was done to me. I understand the neurobiology of trauma. Trauma fractures our mind and our memory. The way a mirror fractures," she added.
Next: Mariska Hargitay Supports New Initiative to Help Abuse Victims and Their Pets
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