Nouveau message de Mariska sur son site:
9/28/10
End the Backlog
I hope you had the chance to see the first two episodes of SVU. I just can’t say enough how great it was to work with Joan Cusack and Henry Ian Cusick.
And we have other fantastic guest stars lined up as our twelfth season unfolds. Scheduled to join us are Gloria Reuben, Maria Bello, Marcia Gay Harden, David Alan Grier, David Krumholtz and Melissa Sagemiller as our new ADA.
But first, in our next episode—one of the most meaningful we have ever done—is Jennifer Love Hewitt. She plays Vicki, a rape victim that is terrorized by a repeat assailant, and she gives a powerhouse performance. I told her while we were shooting, and I’ll say it here again, she blew all of us away with the depth, insight and conviction she brought to the role.
The episode, “Behave,” shows not only how traumatizing a sexual assault can be, but how complicated, difficult—and yes, traumatizing—the road to justice can be. When Vicki makes the courageous decision to have a rape kit performed she thinks that she will finally get the justice she deserves. But what we learn in the episode is that simply having a rape kit collected is not a guarantee that anything will be done with the evidence.
That is a lamentable—and unacceptable—reality of rape in the United States. Experts in the federal government, including the Department of Justice and members of Congress, have estimated that hundreds of thousands of sexual assault evidence kits are sitting untested in police and crime labs throughout the country.
With rape, the victim’s body is the crime scene is the victim’s own body is . When a person reports a sexual assault, she—or he—can undergo an exam to gather DNA evidence from her or his body. Rape kit testing can identify an unknown assailant, confirm a suspect’s contact with the victim, corroborate the victim’s account of the assault, identify serial rapists by connecting crime scene evidence from separate incidents, and exonerate innocent suspects. National studies have shown that cases in which rape kit evidence was tested were more likely to proceed through the criminal justice system and lead to arrests.
But the benefit of testing rape kits goes beyond providing prosecutors with investigative tools to bring offenders to justice. It goes beyond introducing the clarity of DNA evidence into the arena of rape and sexual assault, the crimes with the lowest reporting, arrest, and prosecution rates in the United States. These kits represent human beings who have suffered greatly. Testing their rape kits sends victims the fundamental and crucial message that they and their cases matter.
As many of you know, in addition to my role as Olivia on SVU, I’m also I am the founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization that works to bring healing, education, and empowerment to survivors, and awareness to the public about sexual and family violence. When I first learned about the rape kit backlog, I was shocked that something like this could exist in the United States. Then I, along with Joyful Heart’s board and staff, was moved to action. Fortunately, we are not alone. Law enforcement, public officials, and advocates have paved the way and continue to work in partnership with us on this important issue.
Often, the first step to bringing change to an issue is to shed light on it. That’s why I was so excited and moved when my Executive Producer and JHF Board member, Neal Baer, came to me with the idea for this episode. He was inspired to dedicate an episode to a brave, courageous survivor who shared her story with us last May. “Behave” honors her—and all survivors.
Our hope is that when you watch “Behave,” you’ll be inspired to join the growing movement that is working to eradicate the backlog of untested rape kits.
To get involved, you can:
· Tune in to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Wednesday, September 29th at 9pm/8 central on NBC;
· Join the growing community that’s talking about these issues by following Joyful Heart on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheJHF) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyfulheart) and invite your friends and family to participate as well;
· Check back on this blog next week for the announcement of an exciting new public awareness effort from the Joyful Heart Foundation.
Thank you, as always, for your dedication and compassion. I know with your support, we can work together to bring healing and justice to survivors of sexual violence and end the rape kit backlog.
xo,
Mariska
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