“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay said she was a “victim of secondary trauma” after more than two decades of playing in the legal drama series. “When I started the show, I wasn’t aware of how deeply it would go into me,” she said. “My husband Peter is always like, anytime I go anywhere, my first question is, ‘What’s the crime rate here?’ So it’s on the brain.
“There’s been times when I didn’t know how to protect myself, and I think I was definitely a victim of secondary trauma from being inundated with these stories and knowing that they were true. Those were the parts that I didn’t know how to metabolize, just because of the sheer volume of it.” Hargitay debuted as Detective Olivia Benson on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” during its premiere in 1999.
On the show, she joins other detectives as they investigate and prosecute sexual crimes that were “ripped” from real headlines. Hargitay’s experience on the show led her to create a nonprofit to provide support to victims of abuse. “That’s also why I started Joyful Heart [Foundation], so I would feel like, well, at least I’m doing something about it,” she said.
Created in 2004, the Joyful Heart Foundation seeks to “transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.” Speaking on the balance of motherhood and acting, Hargitay discussed how she has integrated her children into her demanding schedule, which has.