Mariska Hargitay is taking her character beyond the small screen. The actress -- who plays Olivia Benson in “Law and Order: SVU,” a passionate yet tough detective from the Special Victims Unit who becomes the voice of the less fortunate -- is on a mission to fight back against the shame associated with being the victim of a sex crime, and recently helped direct public service announcements for NO MORE, a campaign she leads alongside a number of Hollywood stars.
"It gives me the ability to channel that darkness into light, which is what I'm about. When I learned the statistics of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, I was so horrified ... I felt like I've been given a gift with this show, this platform and the fact of the matter is, when people are talking about issues on television, somehow it makes it safer for people... I think we can stop and change this domestic violence and sexual assault and child abuse," Hargitay says. "I believe everybody needs to take a stand."
The PSAs, which introduced a new circular blue symbol, were funded by the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization Hargitay started. It is a three-year campaign that will run in local and national markets including print, broadcast, online and outdoor ads. You'll also be seeing these PSA videos in movie theaters, major airports and medical facilities. “The shame and stigma belongs with the perpetrator,” she said. “Let’s not stand by; let’s not accept it anymore. No more.”
"This is an epidemic that is afflicting our society and I believe that it is an epidemic we can change,” said Hargitay. “For the first time in history, the domestic violence and the sexual assault movements, the two communities, are coming together with this symbol. It's to this movement what the pink ribbon was to breast cancer, what the red ribbon did for HIV/Aids; it got people together, under one umbrella, talking about it.”
The NO MORE PSAs combine a cast of over 40 individuals, including Courteney Cox, Amy Poehler, Debra Messing, Tate Donovan and "Law & Order" co-stars Ice-T, Christopher Meloni, Dann Florek and Andre Braugher. Other entertainers, athletes, government officials and advocates have also joined. Mariska Hargitay has built up a reputation for her advocacy in domestic violence issues aside from her 15 years as Olivia Benson on "SVU." Hargitay appeared in "The More You Know" PSA in 2006 and 2009 and campaigned for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2012.
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