Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She later learned of the overwhelming number of untested rape kits in the US and made it her organization's mission to address it through the End The Backlog initiative. Her efforts resulted in identifying over 225,000 untested kits and establishing rape kit reform legislation in 41 states. Mariska has also testified in front of Congress twice and created a documentary on HBO titled I Am Evidence. The show recently got a three-year renewal, expanding its historic run to 24 seasons.
