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Vice President Joe Biden and Mariska Hargitay Team with USA Network to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
To Commemorate National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, USA to Host Third LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT “No More Excuses” Marathon on October 19 Featuring New PSAs with Vice President Biden and Hargitay
14-Hour Event Part of Ongoing Partnership with Joyful Heart Foundation and the NO MORE Campaign
NEW YORK – October 6, 2014 – In an effort to help stop domestic violence and sexual assault, USA Network will host a special LAW & ORDER: SVU “No More Excuses” marathon featuring new, original PSAs with Emmy award-winning actress Mariska Hargitay and Vice President Joe Biden. The 14-hour marathon, held on Sunday, October 19 from 9am-11pm ET, will commemorate National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, in partnership with Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation and the NO MORE campaign.
NO MORE is a public awareness movement focused on domestic violence and sexual assault prevention. Supported by the major national and local organizations working to address these urgent issues, the goal of NO MORE is to help normalize the conversation and break the social stigma surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault. The NO MORE PSAs, directed by Hargitay and developed in partnership with Y&R, feature more than 40 celebrities and public figures to engage bystanders to get involved. Learn more at www.nomore.org.
Throughout the day, Vice President Biden and Hargitay will appear in spots that focus on domestic violence and sexual assault, encouraging viewers to get involved in helping to prevent these crimes. The PSAs offer information and resources, including an opportunity to learn more about the White House’s 1is2Many initiative, which the Vice President has championed as part of his longstanding commitment to addressing violence against women.
“Despite the progress we as a nation have made in the movement to end domestic violence and sexual assault, much work remains. Society continues to misplace blame and shame on survivors—both women and men. That has to end. I am so profoundly grateful to the Vice President, who continues to use his voice—and office—to speak boldly about these issues and stand up for survivors,“ said Hargitay.
“We are extremely honored to have Vice President Joe Biden and Mariska Hargitay participate in this effort to help stop domestic violence and assault,” said Toby Graff, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, USA Network. “With increasingly alarming statistics and high profile cases of abuse and assault in the news, it’s critical at this time to use our powerful platforms to inform and support our millions of viewers and inspire positive change.”
In addition to the on-air PSAs, the campaign will include a large digital and social media push, which will offer help for victims and encourage greater action to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. Those participating include everyone from Vice President Biden and Hargitay to the cast of SVU, the NO MORE campaign nonprofit partners, and talent from USA Network.
The first “No More Excuses” marathon, which aired on Sunday, April 27, was widely viewed by more than 1M viewers P18-49 and P25-54 and more than 500k in P18-34 each hour between 5p and midnight – up double digits in comparison to SVU episodes in the same slot a year prior. The second marathon, which aired Sunday, June 22, averaged more than 800K viewers 18-49, nearly 400K P18-34 and over 2MM total viewers.
Created by Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf, "Law & Order: SVU,” (see note below) now in its sixteenth season, is the longest-running primetime drama currently on television. This hard-hitting and emotional series from NBC's "Law & Order" brand chronicles the life and crimes of the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, an elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes. The series stars Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Danny Pino, Kelli Giddish, and Raul Esparza.
"Law & Order: SVU" is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Television. Dick Wolf is creator and executive producer; Warren Leight, Julie Martin and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.
About Joyful Heart Foundation
The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation, created by Hargitay, is to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, and to shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues. For more information, please visit: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/
About USA Network
The #1 network in all of basic cable for an unprecedented eight straight years, USA Network is seen in more than 102 million U.S. homes. USA is a leader in scripted programming with a powerful stable of originals, spectacular live television and is home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, a broad portfolio of acquired series and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com.
Contact:
Melissa Schwartz, media@joyfulheartfoundation.org
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS:
9:00 AM: SOPHOMORE JINX – A co-ed who is hostess to prospective athletes is found dead on campus, and the star basketball recruit was seen with her prior to her death.
10:00 AM: LIMITATIONS – At a victim's request, the police commissioner tries to convince Cragen to close a rape case whose statute of limitations is about to expire. Benson and Stabler finally realize that one of the victims knows the rapist, but she's not willing to talk.
11:00 AM: LEGACY – A seven-year-old girl is so severely abused she falls into a coma, and multiple family members are suspects.
12:00 PM: ASUNDER – A woman accuses her husband, a cop of raping her. When Benson and Stabler arrest him, he denies his wife claims and claims she's unbalanced.
1:00 PM: PROTECTION – A small boy is shot and his mother abandons him at the hospital because she fears for her own life.
2:00 PM: DESPERATE – After a young boy witnesses the brutal sexual assault and murder of his stepmother, his father blocks the efforts of the detectives to question him.
3:00 PM: CHOICE – A man is arrested for attacking his pregnant wife and then seeks to have her charged her with neglect for drinking during her pregnancy. Benson learns that this is not the first time a child has been exposed to the woman's uncontrolled alcoholism.
4:00 PM: BURNED – Elliott thinks a possible rape victim is lying to enhance her divorce settlement. But Olivia thinks it's a sign of her husband's escalating violence, and believes that Stabler's judgment is clouded because of his divorce.
5:00 PM: PERSONA – All of Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler's (Meloni) work exposing the truth surrounding a false rape report may be lost when the victim recants her testimony, and Olivia's attempt to keep the woman safe exposes a deeper and more heartbreaking secret, causing the presiding judge to take a personal interest in the case.
6:00 PM: OUTSIDER – Tutuola reluctantly works on a case involving the rape of a co-ed after his son Ken feels responsible for catching the rapist.
7:00 PM: INFECTED – A high profile case develops around charging a child with murder and his defense argues that his exposure to gun violence conditioned him to kill. Afraid of the precedent this could set, a firearms lobby files a civil suit.
8:00 PM: CRUSH – Benson and Stabler begin an investigation when injuries are found beyond what a teenage girl should have sustained after a fall. Complicated by a "sexting" scandal, Olivia, Elliot and a defense attorney find themselves taking on a family court judge with an agenda to save the girl's life in more ways than one.
9:00 PM: BEHAVE – Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler help a repeat rape victim stand up to her attacker. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Skeet Ulrich guest star.
10:00 PM: TRUE BELIEVERS – A young music student is raped at gunpoint in her own apartment by a young drug dealer. With her help, the SVU squad makes a quick arrest. Bureau Chief Mike Cutter takes over the case when he finds that opposing counsel is high-profile defense attorney Bayard Ellis.
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