ABC News

Eleven thousand untested rape kits were found in an abandoned warehouse near Detroit in 2009. For years since, local officials nationwide have been working to get the funding to test their own backlog of untested kits.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has been trying to help other jurisdictions that face their own backlogs, doling out $38 million nationwide over the course of three years to pay for kits to be tested and criminals brought to justice.

In the wake of recent discussions from the political campaigns about the conduct and language around sexual assault, a group of celebrity men are challenging the notion that "boys will be boys" in a series of public service announcements.

"Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay directed the 15- and 30-second spots that feature an all-male cast, including Andre Braugher, Anthony Edwards, Blair Underwood, Chris Meloni, Daniel Dae Kim, Dave Navarro, Ice-T, Nick Lachey, Raul Esparza and Tate Donovan.

"There was no one who didn't have a particular line resonate so deeply that they had to take a moment to gather themselves," Hargitay, who directed the spots and whose Joyful Heart Foundation produced them, told ABC News.

Mariska Hargitay was floored when fans of Law & Order: SVU began sending her mail that wasn’t just praising her performance on the show, but disclosing their own stories of abuse.

A week after President Obama signed a bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, celebrities and business leaders came to the Capitol today to end domestic abuse.

When Valerie Neumann woke up dazed and physically bruised the morning after her 21st birthday, the awful reality began to sink in that she had been raped. Neumann then made the difficult decision many sexual assault victims make -- to submit to the ordeal of a rape kit at her local hospital.