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Actress Mariska Hargitay.
Actress Mariska Hargitay, famously known for her role as Detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, took the virtual stage Wednesday during the Democratic National Convention to endorse presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
In a segment aimed at addressing domestic violence toward women, the actress was featured in a clip discussing the former vice president’s leadership on violence against women policy — specifically the nationwide backlog of untested rape kits.
Hargitay, 56, said she is voting for Biden for not only for her daughter but her son.
You can watch her speech below:
“I authored the Violence Against Women Act, and as president I’ll expand our efforts to end gender-based violence. Thank you, @Mariska, @RuthMGlenn, and Carly Dryden for your courage and advocacy. Together, we’ll get this done.” – Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/CyeLJlXUde
— 𝐋&𝐎: 𝐒𝐕𝐔 Diehards ✌️✌️ (@SVU_Diehards) August 20, 2020
Here’s what you need to know:
Hargitay & her Joyful Heart Foundation Have Worked With Biden for Years
GettyActress and Joyful Heart Foundation Founder and President Mariska Hargitay (L) and Vice President Joe Biden attend The Joyful Revolution Gala hosted by Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation at David Geffen Hall on May 10, 2016 in New York City.
Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, according to its website.
The national organization seeks to “transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever.”
It aims to advance policies and legislation that “ensure access to justice for survivors” among other things.
Since Hargitay met Biden in 2013, the two have worked together to eventually inspire the federal government to create the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) in 2014, People Magazine reported.
The program, via the Justice Department, offers resources to local communities to test backlogged rape kits in police storage facilities, the magazine said.
It also creates “multi-disciplinary teams to investigate and prosecute cases connected to the backlog, and address the need for victim notification and re-engagement with the criminal justice system,” People indicated.
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