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Full Media Archive
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Joe Biden Honored by Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation for Efforts to End Domestic Violence May 12, 2016 • UsWeekly By Anna Chan
Worthy of recognition! Vice President Joe Biden was honored at the Joyful Heart Foundation’s annual star-studded Joyful Revolution Gala on Tuesday, May 10, in New York City.
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Key legislators approve amended version of bill to test rape kits April 30, 2016 • Honolulu Star Advertiser By Sophie CockeHawaii’s police departments will likely be required to take action on hundreds of rape kits that have sat in storage facilities for years, as well as new rape kits, after key lawmakers Friday agreed to an amended version of House Bill 1907. The bill gained traction after the Honolulu Police Department revealed in February that it had 1,500 untested kits that contain forensic evidence from rape victims. The untested kits, which could help solve crimes and catch serial rapists, date back more than a decade. ... read more |
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Victims' Group: SD Rape Kit Testing Law a Mixed Bag April 20, 2016 • Public News Service By Brandon CampbellPIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota's new rape kit testing law is now in effect, but a sexual assault victims' group argues it may not go far enough to tackle the state's backlog. ... read more |
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Every rape kit booked into evidence in Hawaii should be tested by police April 12, 2016 • Huffpost Hawaii By Kata Issari & Natasha AlexenkoIn 1993, Natasha was raped and robbed at gunpoint by an unknown assailant in New York City. She went to the hospital, where a medical forensic exam was done but the rape kit containing evidence from the assault sat in the police department’s evidence room for nine years. Natasha’s attacker was identified in 2007 when DNA from the rapist was matched to the evidence from her assault. In the years that he was out on the streets after Natasha’s rape, Victor Rondon went on a cross-country crime spree. read more |
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Joyful Heart Foundation Releases First-of-its-Kind Study on Victim Notification as Part of Work to End the Rape Kit Backlog April 8, 2016 • My Social Good News By Api PoderNEW YORK – Today, the Joyful Heart Foundation released Navigating Notification: A Guide to Re-engaging Sexual Assault Survivors Affected by the Untested Rape Kit Backlog. This groundbreaking report will help jurisdictions working to eliminate their backlogs of untested rape kits to create survivor-centered, trauma-informed policies and protocols for victim notification. .. read more |
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The Variety Power of Women luncheon honored Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong'o, Megyn Kelly, Misty Copeland, Vera Wang and Mariska Hargitay for philanthropic work that included gun safety initiatives, global health, child and sex abuse prevention April 8, 2016 • U.S. News & World Report By Jocelyn NoveckNEW YORK (AP) — Host Billy Eichner quipped at Variety's Power of Women luncheon Friday that he wasn't being paid nearly enough for the emcee job he was doing — and that's why he knows what it's like to be a woman in Hollywood. read more |
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Jane Doe No More to Honor Actress Mariska Hargitay and the Joyful Heart Foundation with Dr. Henry C. Lee Award March 8, 2016 • Naugatuck Patch Jane Doe No More, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support and improving the way society responds to victims of sexual violence, is proud to announce Mariska Hargitay, star of the NBC hit drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) and the Joyful Heart Foundation along with Attorney James G. Clark and the Victim Rights Center of Connecticut will be honored at the Jane Doe No More Dr. Henry C. Lee Award & Recognition dinner with the 7th annual Dr. Henry C. Lee Award on Friday, March 18, 2016. .. read more |
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New celebrity PSAs address myth, societal attitudes that confront male survivors of childhood sexual abuse March 7, 2016 • Honolulu Star Advertiser By Sophie CockeJoyful Heart and 1in6 are proud to share a new series in Joyful Heart’s groundbreaking, celebrity-driven NO MORE PSA campaign to address the myths and excuses surrounding males who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, and to invite male survivors to seek help at 1in6.org. The PSAs were created in partnership with Viacom, directed by Joyful Heart’s Founder & President, actress and advocate Mariska Hargitay, developed in partnership with Y&R, Executive Creative Director/Writer, Rachel Howald, and photographed by world-renowned celebrity photographer Timothy White. read more |
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Mariska Hargitay directs powerful new PSA supporting male sexual abuse survivors March 3, 2016 • Today Pop Culture By Sarah EpsteinMariska Hargitay is taking a page from her "Law and Order: SVU" character, Olivia Benson, and fighting to raise awareness about male survivors of sexual abuse. ... read more |
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Joyful Heart Groundbreaking Celebrity PSAs Address Myths, Societal Attitudes that Confront Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse March 2, 2016 • Joyful Heart Foundation By Joyful Heart Foundation
The Joyful Heart Foundation and 1in6 – in partnership with Viacom – today launched a new series of print and broadcast public service announcements (PSAs) that speak to the excuses and societal attitudes that male survivors of sexual abuse are confronted with and direct viewers to resources for help.
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Ohio tests 10,000 rape kits to clear backlogs, hundreds indicted February 18, 2016 • Reuters By Kim PalmerAn effort Ohio launched about five years ago to manage its backlog of rape kits has resulted in more than 10,000 tests to recover physical evidence and led to at least 445 indictments, the state Attorney General's office said on Thursday. "This is a tremendous milestone," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "The testing of these 10,000 kits has helped identify hundreds of alleged assailants, many of whom repeatedly committed violent attacks." ... read more |
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Faced With Staggering Backlogs of Rape Kits, States Change Testing, Investigations February 17, 2016 • The Pew Charitable Trusts By Rebecca BeitschSeeking to secure justice for thousands of rape victims, about 20 states are moving to test a backlog of unexamined rape kits found in storage rooms in police departments across the country — and change the rules for how rape cases are handled in the future. read more |
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Why One Ohio Court Case Could Be Detrimental for Rape Victims Everywhere February 8, 2016 • Broadly. By Lindsay Schrupp
Despite Ohio's extensive initiative to test thousands of previously untested, backlogged rape kits, one Ohio Supreme Court case could affect the ways in which future rape cases are prosecuted.
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Why an Ohio Supreme Court case involving rape kits is drawing national attention February 17, 2016 • Cleveland.com By Rachel DisselCLEVELAND, Ohio – A Cleveland rape case in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court could result in tougher standards for prosecuting cases reopened after tests on thousands rape kits, some that had been shelved for decades. State and national victims' advocacy groups are closely watching the case. They've filed legal briefs warning that, if an appeals court decision stands, it could undermine justice for rape survivors and allow serial rapists to evade prosecution. read more |
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Joyful Heart Foundation and Partners File Amicus Brief in Ohio Case That Could Undermine Justice for Rape Survivors January 20, 2016 • ENDTHEBACKLOG By Joyful Heart Foundation
We have just filed an amicus brief on behalf of the State of Ohio, which is appealing the Ohio Court of Appeals’ decision to use the state’s backlog of untested rape kits in part to dismiss rape and kidnapping charges against an alleged serial rapist. Partners AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women, Rape Abuse Incest National Network, Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence and National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) joined Joyful Heart in the filing.
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It’s Not a Backlog, It’s a Lack of Concern for Rape Victims January 15, 2016 • Counterpunch By Lauren FinleyAccording to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), an American is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds. “Rape kit” is the term used to describe the physical evidence obtained from a victim who reports being sexually assaulted. Victims’ bodies are, in essence, the crime scene. They endure what some might describe as a second sexual violation, being scraped, poked and prodded, only out of hope that their perpetrator can eventually be held accountable. And perhaps not rape again, as so many do. ... read more |
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New Mexico Audit Finds 5,411 Untested Rape Kits January 7, 2016 • Public News Service SANTA FE, N.M. – Victims' rights advocates are hoping New Mexico officials take steps during the upcoming legislative session to deal with the state's backlog of untested sexual assault evidence kits, or rape kits. A state audit discovered more than 5,400 kits still sitting in police evidence lockers around the state. ... read more |
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No urgency in testing rape kits amounts to no respect for victims January 5, 2016 • Miami Herald By Fabiola SantiagoWhere’s the urgency, the respect for rape victims? On Tuesday afternoon, a day after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a report revealing the high number of rape-evidence kits that sit untested for DNA in police storage facilities, the police agency with the highest number of them remained mum. Still working on trying to get information, a spokesman of the Miami-Dade County Police Department told the Miami Herald. read more |
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Hundreds of sexual assault kits untested in Missouri January 5, 2016 • KOMU 8 By Emna NicolasCOLUMBIA – Hundreds of rape and sexual assault kits in Missouri go untested for months or years at a time, while some are never tested at all. The current state of Missouri’s system to prosecute rapists is failing survivors who made the choice of enduring the four to six-hour examination required to create a kit. “And they do that with the expectation that the evidence will be used in their case, and that it will be handled appropriately and effectively,” said Ilse Knecht, the Joyful Heart Foundation's policy and advocacy director. ... read more |
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Miami PD to begin work on state’s largest backlog of untested rape kits January 4, 2016 • Miami Herald By David SmileyAn effort to identify and process every untested rape kit in Florida has found that more than 3,700 exist in Miami-Dade County, including 2,243 held by Miami police alone — the most of any law enforcement agency in the state. read more |
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Law & Order: SVU' star and director Mariska Hargitay confronts sexual consent January 2, 2016 • Inquisitr By Edward VkantyMariska Hargitay has again been directing episodes of Law & Order: SVU and her most recent efforts aired Wednesday night in the appropriately titled episode, “A Misunderstanding.” The episode was written by Celine C. Robinson, who previously wrote six other episodes for the series, and centers around a young high school couple in a story that involves a he-said, she-said scenario addressing issues related to sexual consent. Hargitay says the episode was daunting to direct, because sexual consent is as murky topic in real American courtrooms as it is in fictional legal dramas. read more |
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Nevada lawmakers allocate funds to test rape kits December 17, 2015 • Reno Gazette-Journal By Ken RitterLAS VEGAS – Nevada lawmakers have agreed to allocate almost $3.7 million to test 7,500 sexual assault evidence kits languishing in police vaults around the state, including some in Las Vegas dating back 30 years. State Attorney General Adam Laxalt told the legislature’s Interim Finance Committee on Wednesday the state is just getting started digging through the backlog. The money includes $1.7 million from a settlement this summer with JPMorgan Chase in a debt collection practices case toward the rape kit effort. ... read more |
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Congress slated to increase rape kit funding by $45M December 16, 2015 • USA Today By Steve ReillyWASHINGTON -- Lawmakers are positioned to devote $45 million in the 2016 fiscal year to combat the nation’s accumulation of untested sexual assault kits. The funding, included as part of the omnibus spending bill Congress released Wednesday, is aimed at helping local law enforcement agencies test backlogged sexual assault evidence kits and perform related activities as part of a U.S. Justice Department initiative. ... read more |
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Greek life tackles sexual assault December 6, 2015 • The Stanford Daily By Yael LedermanIn 2011, students from a fraternity at the University of Vermont circulated an email asking members whom they wanted to rape. In 2010, Delta Kappa Epsilon members at Yale paraded around campus chanting what The Yale Daily News would later deem “an active call for sexual violence.” Greek life has often found itself at the center of the sexual assault discussion nationwide. Although this issue is not isolated to Greek life, media and society often buy into a negative stigma of frequent sexual assault in the Greek community, often painting Greek life in a negative light. read more |
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The story behind the first rape kit Nov. 21, 2015 • CNN By Jessica Ravitz
First used in Illinois and then across the country, rape kits are making headlines as hundreds of thousands of them are being discovered backlogged, untested and, in some cases, destroyed.
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