Mariska Hargitay revealed this week that she’s a survivor of sexual assault — one thing quite a few orgs advocating on behalf of victims are singing her praises over, for good cause.
The actress penned a gut-wrenching piece for People this week detailing her expertise — which detailed what she says was an outright rape dedicated by somebody she thought of a good friend in her 30s. She would not specify when it occurred, however she does keep in mind it vividly.
She says, “I tried all the ways I knew to get out of it. I tried to make jokes, to be charming, to set a boundary, to reason, to say no. He grabbed me by the arms and held me down. I was terrified. I didn’t want it to escalate to violence. I now know it was already sexual violence, but I was afraid he would become physically violent. I went into freeze mode, a common trauma response when there is no option to escape. I checked out of my body.”
Afterward, Mariska says she erased this incident from her narrative and tried forgetting it — though, this concern continues to be very clearly close to and expensive to her coronary heart … evidenced in the truth that she based the Joyful Coronary heart Basis, a nonprofit geared toward serving to SA survivors.
After all, there’s additionally the very fact she’s been enjoying Det. Olivia Benson on ‘Legislation & Order: SVU’ for years now … and her character is consistently out to catch predators of this nature as nicely.
Mariska has been getting praised for sharing her expertise, however there are some advocacy teams on this area that wanna present her extra love and appreciation … together with the Nationwide Sexual Violence Useful resource Middle, the New York Metropolis Alliance Towards Sexual Assault, the Rape, Abuse & Incest Nationwide Community and the New York State Coalition Towards Sexual Assault.
Reps for all 4 orgs inform TMZ that Mariska coming ahead continues to strip away the stigma of victims feeling afraid or ashamed to come back ahead and converse their fact … noting what she’s doing right here is useful to numerous different folks on the market on the planet.
Scott Berkowitz of RAINN says, “Mariska Hargitay has already done so much for survivors of sexual violence through her career and her foundation. To now share her personal story is another brave and important act, and we stand by her and all survivors who take this step.”
All of the teams right here inform us nearly the identical factor — that Mariska’s recounting echoes a lot of what victims undergo collectively … and that speaking about it encourages others to do the identical. With somebody as high-profile as her talking out, it helps pave the best way.
As MH says herself, “The experience was horrible. But it doesn’t come close to defining me, in the same way that no other single part of my story defines me. No single part of anyone’s story defines them.”
