Full Media Archive

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Seven Changes That Would Empower the #MeToo Movement
November 25, 2017 • Newsweek
By Marci A. Hamilton

The social media campaign #MeToo has been an extraordinary space where victims of sex harassment and assault have found their voices.

These victims are inspiring and you just want to believe that something good must come out of all of the pain that they have had to endure so long in silence.

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Locals, lawmaker speak out about Georgia’s rape kit backlog
November 18, 2017 • Savannah Morning News
By Brittini Ray

It’s been four years since Paige Bullard was sexually assaulted on Savannah State University’s campus, but her journey as a rape victim advocate is just getting started.

And she says one of the biggest lessons that she has learned is that “what happened to her did not have to happen to someone else.”

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Mass. House approves proposal to create tracking system for untested rape kits and evaluate backlog
November 15, 2017 • MassLive
By Scott J. Croteau

The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a proposal to overhaul the state's policy for tracking and testing rape kits.

The proposal was adopted as an amendment to the criminal justice reform bill passed Tuesday night. House Minority Leader Bradley Jones Jr. proposed the amendment, which calls for the creation of a rape kit tracking system with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

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From #MeToo to Men Too: How Men Can Prevent Harassment and Abuse
November 13, 2017 • HuffPost
By Marianne Schnall

Since the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story broke the floodgates, every day brings new allegations of powerful men assaulting or harassing women, and millions of women have been publicly sharing their personal stories and declaring “#MeToo.” But why is the onus always on the women to share their stories, to be the only ones leading the outcry and call for change? Both men and women are asking how men can get more involved in this movement and are committed to educating men on how to use their voices and influence to become part of the solution.

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Anthony Edwards Discloses His Own Sexual Assault Story
November 10, 2017 • UPROXX
By Dan Seitz

Anthony Edwards, best known for his work on ER and in Top Gun, has been working to discuss male victims of sexual assault for a long time, working with groups like Joyful Heart to raise awareness that sexual assault is a problem for everyone. Edwards recently took to Medium, however, to lay bare the personal impetus behind this: That he’s a survivor of sexual assault as well.

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How #MeToo could move from social campaign to social change
November 9, 2017 • CNN
By Sandee LaMotte

A CALL TO MEN launch the Joyful Heart Foundation, which includes an op-ed and public service announcement featuring male celebrities.

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A Call to Men: #IWILLSPEAKUP
October 30, 2017 • HuffPost
By Maile M. Zambuto and Ted Bunch

Celebrities, our friends, our sisters, our daughters, and ourselves—are speaking out about sexual assault, abuse, and harassment. From the simple yet powerful #MeToo to women’s detailed personal accounts in news stories and op-eds, this violence is at the forefront of our attention. The volume of the conversation is way up, getting louder, and showing no sign of stopping. It is inescapable.

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Private film screening highlights problem of unexamined sexual assault kits
October 24, 2017 • WIBW News
By WIBW News Now

Following the I AM EVIDENCE screening, Wayne County, Michigan Prosecutor Kym Worthy facilitated a discussion about the value of testing sexual assault kit evidence and establishing a victim-centered approach to sexual assault response.

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Federal Dollars Help Clear Untested Rape Kits
October 6, 2017 • News LI
By Andrea Sears

New York City is getting some federal help to eliminate its backlog of untested rape kits.

The Justice Department’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is distributing $34 million to 20 jurisdictions around the country. The grants will help test kits that have often sat in evidence lockers for years, prosecute those identified by DNA analysis, and keep victims informed.

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SVU's Mariska Hargitay Doesn't Know Where She Ends & Olivia Benson Begins—And Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
September 27, 2017 • E! News
By Chris Harnick

Mariska Hargitay says the character has taught her so much, changing her life and serving as the impetus for the Joyful Heart Foundation.

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Former Houston woman sues city, officials over 6,000 untested rape kits
September 25, 2017 • Houston Chronicle
By Gabrielle Banks

A former Houston woman is suing the City of Houston and a long list of current and former mayors and police chiefs for failing to investigate a backlog of more than 6,000 untested rape kits, and not identifying her attacker as a man who had been in a national police database for decades.

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Untested rape exam kits number thousands in Indiana
September 20, 2017 • The Indiana Lawyer
By Dave Stafford

Like many states, Indiana has a problem — mountains of untested rape exam kits in local law enforcement agencies that contain DNA evidence potentially identifying sex offenders. Indiana’s backlog of untested kits is certainly in the thousands. Victim advocates say the question is, how many thousands?

No one can accurately answer that question — at least not until Dec. 1. That’s when a report to lawmakers is due from Indiana State Police, detailing the number of untested kits warehoused by law enforcement agencies around the state.

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Bill Introduced to Reduce National Rape Kit Backlog
September 6, 2017 • KTVN Channel 2
By KTVN Channel 2

A bill called the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act was introduced today and will reauthorize, strengthen, and extend the Sexual Assault Forensic Registry program in an effort to help reduce the national rape kit backlog.

This legislation would also ensure pediatric forensic nurses are eligible for training, highlighting the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners in responding to children suffering from abuse.

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This Is How Taylor Swift’s Donations Will Impact Sexual Assault Survivors
August 16, 2017 • HuffPost
By Alanna Vagianos

After a jury ruled in favor or Taylor Swift in her countersuit against former DJ David Mueller on Monday night, the pop star announced that she would be donating money to organizations to help survivors of sexual assault.

Maile M. Zambuto, CEO of the Joyful Heart Foundation, told HuffPost that her organization will be one of several that benefit from Swift’s donations. 

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Taylor Swift Is Already Giving Back To Sexual Assault Survivors Following Groping Case
August 17, 2017 • Refinery29
By Meghan Demaria

Taylor Swift won her groping lawsuit against radio DJ David Mueller on Monday. After her victory in court, Swift said she'd donate to organizations that help survivors — and she's already followed through on that promise.

Maile M. Zambuto, CEO of Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation, told The Huffington Post on Wednesday that Swift contacted the organization about making a contribution.

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Jefferson County to test backlogged rape kits with new $1.5 million grant
July 20, 2017 • AL.com
By Ivana Hrynkiw

The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office doesn't know how many untested rape kits they have-- but they plan to find out, and test them all.

According to information from the district attorney's office, there have been more than 27,000 rapes in Alabama in the past 19 years. Of those, 21 percent took place in Jefferson County. 

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Law: North Carolina police must inventory untested rape kits
June 29, 2017 • Associated Press
By Christina Sandidge

No one knows how many untested rape kits have been shelved by local police departments throughout North Carolina, leaving victims to wonder if their cases will ever be solved, and leaving perpetrators free to strike again. A new law aims to change that by year's end.

The state budget, enacted this week following a veto override, requires that local law enforcement agencies take inventory of the kits they have and report their findings to the State Crime Lab by January 1.

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30 years after assault, Michelle Bowdler discovered her rapists' DNA was never tested
July 11, 2017 • MassLive
By Melissa Hanson

Michelle Bowdler will never know the identities of the two men who broke into her Boston apartment and raped her more than 30 years ago, even though they may have left crucial DNA evidence behind.

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'Law and Order' Star Testifies About Rape Kits, Sexual Violence to Congress
June 16, 2017 • NBC New York
By NBC New York

Mariska Hargitay, who plays the tough, dogged lead on "Law & Order: SVU," testified on behalf of real-life rape survivors Friday in front of a task force on sexual violence in the Capitol.

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Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation and the Power of Vulnerability
May 23, 2017 • StyleCaster
By Christina Grasso

Mariska Hargitay may be best known for her role as Olivia Benson, the badass lieutenant on NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” now going into its 19th season. But what many people may not know is that her work on the hit show inspired her to use her platform for tremendous good by helping survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. In other words, her level of badassery transcends that of her character’s on the show that I, like so many others, grew up watching.

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Why Mariska Hargitay Considers Law & Order: SVU Her "Calling"
May 23, 2017 • E! Online
By Chris Harnick

For Mariska Hargitay, playing Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU is more than just a job, it's a calling.

"Every day I get on my knees and thank God for this opportunity. It's not lost on me that God gave me this opportunity, this platform to speak about these issues. I really feel like it was a calling, it's not an accident I came on this show," Hargitay told E! News at The Joyful Heart Foundation gala. "I always wanted to be on service, but it's hard. You say, ‘What do I do? How do I be of service?' and this was an opportunity."

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How Can We Solve America's Backlogged Rape Kit Problem?
May 11, 2017 • Glamour
By Cady Drell

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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Mariska Hargitay’s Doc ‘I Am Evidence’ Is An Eye-Opening Look At The Rape Kit Backlog
May 2, 2017 • The Huffington Post
By Stephanie Marcus

If you were to watch almost any episode of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” it’s likely that some form of sexual assault would take place, the victim would be given a rape kit at the hospital, and the dedicated detectives investigating would send the kit off to be tested for DNA evidence.

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How Mariska Hargitay's 'Law & Order' Role Spurred HBO's Sexual Assault Doc
April 24, 2017 • The Hollywood Reporter
By Ashley Lee

After 18 years of starring in Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay is taking on sexual assault offscreen.

The star of NBC’s long-running procedural series is a producer of I Am Evidence, a new documentary highlighting the hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits in the United States. The dormant status of these kits, some of which have been left in police evidence storage rooms for decades, mirrors the pattern of how the criminal justice system has historically treated sexual assault victims. Meanwhile, perpetrators are never held accountable for their crimes.

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Eagle Club Indoor Golf Raises More Than $10K For Actress Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation
April 11, 2017 • Patch
By Nikki Gaskins

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA—Eagle Club Indoor Golf is excited to announce the recent success of its first ever “Drive-A-Thon” fundraiser. On March 31st and April 1st, San Francisco’s #1 spot for indoor golf culminated its quarter long fundraising campaign with a drive-a-thon to benefit Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping sexual assault survivors heal and reclaim a sense of joy in their lives. The money raised—$10,200 total—will benefit the non-profit’s “End the Backlog” campaign.

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