#ENDTHEBACKLOG

Mariska Hargitay produces a documentary that shows the reality beind the rapekits that are untested nationwide.

You know when you hear the sound, “dun-dun,” an episode of Law and Order: SVU is about to start and when I hear this sound, I get excited. This show has 19 seasons, so if you haven’t binge-watched the series on Netflix or Hulu, you’ve most likely heard of this show or stumbled upon a random episode on TV at some point in your life.

SVU is about a group of detectives in New York City that usually investigate crimes involving sexual violence. I love this show because I feel like I am always learning something new by watching these exciting episodes that are often inspired by real life cases. For the episodes in which victims don’t get justice, my heart breaks, but it proves that sexual violence is a huge issue that exists in our world today.

Mariska Hargitay plays Lieutenant Olivia Benson on the show and playing this role on screen inspired her to use her platform to start the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004. This foundation is known for helping survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.

Hargitay was also inspired to produce an HBO documentary called “I Am Evidence” that focuses on the stories of survivors and the ones whose rape kits went untested for years. Why is this so important? Because more than 400,000 kits are backlogged and never tested nationwide.

In the film, Hargitay says:

“To me, the backlog is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we regard these crimes in our society...Testing rape kits sends a fundamental and crucial message to victims of sexual violence: You matter. What happened to you matters. Your case matters.”

With this documentary, Trish Adlesic, another producer, hopes that the documentary forces people to care about the issue and that it will let survivors know they are not alone.

So, if you love SVU like I do, support Hargitay and especially survivors, by tuning in to watch the documentary on this #ENDTHEBACKLOG Day of Action. Watch “I Am Evidence” tonight on HBO at 8pm.