Media Archive by Format: online

A dinner with Joyful Heart Foundation officials and local supporters marked a homecoming for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star Mariska Hargitay, who was in town last week for a series of private appearances on behalf of the organization she founded. read more

In the United States, nearly four children die every day as a result of child abuse and neglect. More than three quarters of these children are under the age of five and more than 40 percent of young victims won’t live to see their first birthday. In 2010, 4,199 cases of child abuse were reported in Hawaii. And yet, most of these could have been prevented: Studies show that the stronger the support network parents have, the less likely they are to abuse their children. read more

Student Health and Wellness Programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is among six organizations selected to join the Joyful Heart Foundation’s “Heal the Healers Hawaiʻi” project.

The initiative, funded by the Atherton Family Foundation, supports a series of training and technical assistance sessions to train and support staff working with students who have experienced trauma.

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A new public service announcement is shining a much-needed light on the thousands of rape kits that go untested every year in the U.S.

The Joyful Heart Foundation, which created the PSA, estimates that hundreds of thousands of rape kits are sitting untested in law enforcement facilities around the country due to the lack of resources and funding. “Shelved” lays out in 60 seconds the far-reaching impacts of this backlog.

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Hilary Swank attends a charity event hosted by Mariska Hargitay. read more

Mariska Hargitay and her Joyful Heart Foundation partner With KIND Healthy Snacks' Do The KIND Thing program to package and donate healing kits for children in NYC. read more

Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann attended the Joyful Heart Foundation's Inaugural Joyful Mele Gala in Honolulu, Hawaii September 1. read more

Someone is sexually assaulted every two minutes in the United States. That's a number big and scary enough that you'd think it would be a compelling argument for doing something about it, and yet sexual assault cases rarely even go to trial, let alone lead to a conviction. One part of the problem: It's estimated that 175,000 sexual assault evidence kits — often referred to as "rape kits" — remain untested in evidence storage facilities around the country. 

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MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - When Ilse Knecht thinks about thousands of untested sexual assault kits, she imagines thousands of people sitting on shelves.

“Each one of these boxes represents a survivor who went through that experience, did everything society asked them to do - report the crime to police, have evidence collected and participate in the criminal justice process - and we fail them,” Knecht said.

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After years starring in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Mariska Hargitay is now highlighting the subject matter in a new way by producing I AM EVIDENCE, a sobering and timely look at the way rape kits have been left to languish, a policy decision with the ghastly effect of enabling serial perpetrators to continue assaulting women.

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I had the honor of attending Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation annual celebration last week. This organization that Mariska started works to heal, educate and empower victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. T read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich grew up in locker rooms, from peewee football to the N.F.L.

“It’s a very unusual work environment — a small space and 100 percent male,” Herzlich said.

Locker to locker, the setting is marinated in machismo, with a lineup of employees celebrated for their toughness.

“We play a rough game on TV,” Herzlich said. “People see us and say: ‘Man, look at that dude. That’s a guy right there.’ ”

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