Mariska Hargitay
To millions of TV viewers, Mariska Hargitay is Olivia Benson, the tough but compassionate NYPD captain who has been tackling crimes for the past 26 years on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Away from the cameras, Hargitay channels that same fierce dedication into her real-world role as a powerful advocate for survivors of sexual assault.
Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation, which she launched in 2004, focuses on changing the way society responds to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse through education, advocacy, and strategic grants. Since 2010, it has prioritized tackling the vast backlog of untested rape kits in the U.S.—crucial DNA evidence that is often left unprocessed, which can delay justice and potentially allow repeat offenders to remain free. Through its End the Backlog campaign, the foundation has identified tens of thousands of untested kits, funded training to clear the backlog, and driven policy changes. Its six pillars of reform—which include mandating statewide kit tracking, testing timelines, and victim notifications—have now been fully adopted by 21 states and the District of Columbia, with 11 others close behind.
In 2024, Hargitay shared a more personal connection to her foundation's work. In an essay published by People, Hargitay revealed that she had been raped by a then-friend when she was in her 30s—a fact that took her decades to come to terms with. 'I couldn't process it,' she wrote. 'I was building Joyful Heart on the outside so I could do the work on the inside.'
Contact us at letters@time.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
6 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kendrick Perkins shares harrowing death threat tale over Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘Robin' take
Kendrick Perkins' hot takes are getting people a little too worked up. The former NBA champion and ESPN personality revealed on the 'Road Trippin'' podcast with Channing Frye that Milwaukee Bucks fans went wild after he said that Giannis Antetokounmpo was the 'Robin' to Khris Middleton's 'Batman' during the 2021 NBA Finals. 'I started getting a death threat,' Perkins said during the podcast. 'It was going to my wife's account. This dude was sending me threat after threat. 'I am going to kill your kids. I know where you stay. I am going to murder you.' This was real life.' 3 Kendrick Perkins on the Road Trippin' podcast with Channing Frye and Allie LaForce. YouTube/Road Trippin' The fan took some serious umbrage at Perkins' characterization of Antetokounmpo and Middleton's roles — in Batman lingo — on the 2021 Bucks. 'I've been preaching time and time again that [Middleton is] the Batman of this team and Giannis is the Robin and look,' Perkins said in 2021, 'it's okay to be the Robin — people think that's a bad thing. It's not.' 3 Giannis Antetoukounmpo was caleld Robin to Khris Middleton's Batman in 2021 by Kendrick Perkinns. Getty Images Perkins shared the messages with ESPN and who helped identify the sender, who was later arrested. 'They found the dude and locked him up,' the ex-Celtics star said. 'This is true, and he was like, 'No, no. I wasn't serious.' Like, nah, motherf–ker, you're going to jail. Don't play like that.' Perkins' harrowing tale came as part of a broader discussion about gambling in basketball, in particular regarding Michael Porter Jr., who sent a scary warning to the NBA about fixing player prop bets. Porter's brother, Jontay, was banished from the NBA for manipulating his player props, pulling himself out of games with mystery illnesses or injuries so his Under wagers would win. 3 Kendrick Perkins revealed he received death threats for his comments about NBAE via Getty Images The new Nets' star expressed displeasure about death threats he had received from NBA bettors who threatened to kill him for not helping them win their bet. Perkins added some advice for Porter if he's receiving threats: tell the NBA and let them deal with it in the same way ESPN did for him. 'The work might be about basketball,' Perkins said, 'but the stakes can be much higher.'
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Amazon Password Warning—Delete All These Texts On Your Phone
Is this threat on your phone? NurPhoto via Getty Images The latest password attacks targeting Amazon customers are now soaring. And while the retail giant has confirmed to me that 320 million users have upgraded the security on their accounts to better defend against these hacks, millions are still at risk. Proofpoint has just warned that such SMS-based attacks are out of control. 'Smishing campaigns jumped 2,534%, with over half of SMS phishing messages containing malicious URLs, reflecting a major shift toward mobile-first targeting.' Forbes Microsoft's Emergency Update For Windows Users—'Critical Issues' By Zak Doffman The latest text message attacks making headlines (1,2,3) pretend to be from Amazon. The message includes a link to a fake login page designed to steal your username and password, which then lets the hackers gain access to your account. The lure is the promise of a refund for a product you have recently purchased, you just need to click on the link to confirm you want you money back — you don't even need to return the product. Who doesn't want free money, the attackers assume. According to Guardio, the drafting of the texts has just changed, with more specific phrasing. And those texts are flying. The security firm saw a near 1000% surge in just two days. Remember, these text scams are an industry pumping out billions of texts each year. The hit rate can be very low and still highly lucrative. Amazon says 'scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put consumers at risk. We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement.' Wisconsin state officials are the latest to warn of this new wave of Amazon attacks. "Just click a link, complete a form that goes to a fake Amazon website where your personal information and financial information will be collected," the state tells its citizens.' The FBI warns all smartphone users to delete these malicious texts from their devices. While the domains and links are often only live for a day, you don't want dangerous links lurking on your phone, even if you're certain you won't mistakenly click. Forbes FBI Warns Bitcoin And Crypto Investors—These Are 'Red Flags' By Zak Doffman Amazon has told me that 'we encourage customers to use two-step verification and Passkeys to help protect their accounts.' You should do that as soon as you can. The company says 320 million customers have already added passkeys to their account, and they encourage all others to do the same. These protect against password attacks, as a passkey only works on your own devices. While the refund texts are claiming victims they're not difficult to detect. As Amazon warns, 'text messages that contain phishing links with URLs that are misspelled, have typos, or have a link that is an IP address' are not genuine. The URLs in these refund texts are clearly not Amazon addresses and must not be clicked. Delete every one of these messages on your phone.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Staten Island activist arrested by NYPD after confronting Zohran Mamdani on his anti-Trump tour
Activist Scott Lo Baido was handcuffed by NYPD on Wednesday after protesting outside Zohran Mamdani's anti-Trump event on Staten Island. (Credit: Scott Lo Baido)
