Joyful Heart in the News

Mariska Hargitay, of "Law & Order: SVU," made her directorial debut this week when she helped NO MORE launch a series of star-studded PSAs that will kick-start a three-year campaign to urge bystanders to speak out against sexual assault and domestic violence.

Hargitay isn’t fighting this war alone, however; The NO MORE symbol is the first unified branding symbol for these issue, and most of the major national organizations dedicated to fighting sexual assault and domestic violence have signed on the support the campaign.

When Hargitay first took on the role of Detective Benson, she didn’t realize how widespread these issues were. It wasn’t until the actress started getting letters in the mail from people recounting instances of their assaults for the first time that she realized how prevalent sexual assault and domestic violence are.

To help her spread the message that bystanders need to say “NO MORE” excuses and take action, Hargitay called in support from celebs like her former on-screen partner Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Amy Poehler, Megan Hilty, and Courteney Cox.

Hargitay, who founded the Joyful Heart Foundation to help victims, said directing the PSAs was “a dream come true,” and that even though “society continues to misplace shame and blame on survivors,” she remains hopeful. Like the NO MORE symbol and name suggests, she wants to one day see a world where there is no sexual assault or domestic violence.

You can find the NO MORE PSAs on the campaign’s website. To add your voice to the conversation, hashtag your tweets #NOMOREexcuses.

It’s time to say NO MORE to excuses, to silence, to standing by while other people are hurting. If you know someone who is a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence, you can find resources to help them at NO MORE, or at Loveisrespect.