Mariska Hargitay Helps Achieve Nationwide Rape Kit Reform After 16-Year Campaign

A major milestone has been reached in efforts to improve how sexual assault evidence is handled in the United States.

Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation announced that its “End the Backlog” campaign has helped pass rape kit reform laws in all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This achievement comes after 16 years of advocacy. Maine was the final state to adopt at least one of the campaign’s key reforms.

Rape kits are used to collect evidence after a sexual assault, but for many years, hundreds of thousands of these kits were left untested across the country. This meant that survivors often waited years for answers, and in some cases, justice was delayed or denied.

The campaign focused on six main reforms. These include requiring that all old, untested kits are submitted and analyzed, making sure new kits are tested promptly, creating systems to track each kit, and giving survivors access to updates about their cases. The reforms also call for statewide reviews of existing kits and dedicated funding to support testing and tracking.

Hargitay, known for her role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, started the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004. She said her work on the show helped her understand the challenges faced by survivors of sexual violence.

In a statement, Hargitay described the milestone as a turning point for survivors who have long wondered if their cases were ignored. She credited survivors, advocates, and lawmakers for pushing the issue forward over many years.

While the nationwide reform is a significant step, advocates say there is still more work to do to ensure the laws are fully carried out and that survivors receive the support they need.