Reunion Online

Catherine Becket hadn't forgotten that evening three years ago in her Parkville apartment, though she tried.

Then, as she watched with outrage while Stanford University student Brock Turner served three months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, she resolved to confront her own memories. She called Baltimore County police this summer about reopening her sexual assault case.

But she soon discovered that would be difficult.

Locally and nationally recognized musicians, television personalities, athletes, cultural practitioners, and community leaders have joined forces launched a campaign today to raise much-needed visibility and awareness about the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault across the state in a dramatic new series of public service announcements released today by the Joyful Heart Foundation.

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.

Friends of Mariska Hargitay teamed up for a new series of sexual assualt PSAs for her Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization committed to “transforming society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.”

The 15 to 30 second clips feature celebrities, including former Law and Order: SVU co-star Chris Meloni, Quantico actor Blair Underwood, The OC star Tate Donovan, musician/actor Nick Lachey, Broadway's Andrew Rannells, and others reciting some of the most commonly used defenses that enforce societal norms about sexual assault.

In the wake of recent discussions from the political campaigns about the conduct and language around sexual assault, a group of celebrity men are challenging the notion that "boys will be boys" in a series of public service announcements.

"Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay directed the 15- and 30-second spots that feature an all-male cast, including Andre Braugher, Anthony Edwards, Blair Underwood, Chris Meloni, Daniel Dae Kim, Dave Navarro, Ice-T, Nick Lachey, Raul Esparza and Tate Donovan.

Two years after shocking revelations about 70,000 rape kits that went unprocessed across the country for decades, the United States committed another $38 million on Monday to expand testing.

Mariska Hargitay has had to portray a lock of terrifying, disturbing scenarios in 17 seasons on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but the actress and mother of three was especially impacted by one shocking scene in the season 18 premiere. 

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice released its much-anticipated report about policing practices in Baltimore, Maryland. Included in their examination is scathing evidence that victims of sexual assault in the city are denied equal and full access to the law.

Mariska Hargitay is opening up about how her role on Law & Order: SVU has made her an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse.

The backlog of untested rape kits goes back years, and it's hindering the justice process.