Joyful Heart in the News

On the Nov. 14 episode of Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay’s character wore a necklace that made a powerful statement in support of real-life survivors of violent crimes.

Sales of the Me&Ro Fearlessness pendant benefit the Joyful Heart Foundation, which the actress founded after years of receiving fan mail from SVU fans desperate to share their own personal stories of  domestic violence and sexual assault. 

“Fearlessness is a theme that [the organization] touches on a lot in their outreach to survivors who are coming out of the darkness and casting aside fears of telling your story or coming forward and really standing up for yourself and finding your path to healing, whatever that might be,” a Joyful Heart rep tells EW about the meaning behind the inscription. “It’s not just for survivors, but also [to encourage] witnesses to come forward.”

The Fearlessness pendant, which has appeared on previous seasons of SVU, now comes in a mini dog tag style — as seen on Hargitay’s Detective Benson in the photo above — that can be worn by both men and women.