Mariska Hargitay Just Made a Documentary That's Like a Real-Life 'SVU' Episode
There are more than 200,000 rape kits in the U.S. that have never been tested. 'I Am Evidence' sheds light on the problem.
![Office, Desk, White-collar worker, Interior design, Employment, Job, Room, Furniture, Window covering, Table,](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nEWBPYRnNRzv6G4zRx5w4H-415-80.jpg)
I've been watching Law & Order: SVU since the beginning. Which is to say, since before it was probably appropriate for me to watch it. But that's besides the point. The point is I love Mariska Hargitay. (Not so much that I have a cat named Olivia Benson, but that's really just because I don't have a cat. I digress.)
One of the things I love about Mariska (can I call you Mariska?) is that she doesn't just talk a big talk on a television show; she walks a big walk in real life. She founded a non-profit to help eradicate sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, was a leader of the NO MORE campaign to end violence against women, and now she's turning her attention to the rape kit backlog.
Hargitay and Kym Worthy, Wayne County prosecutor, at a screening of the documentary.
There are more than 200,000 rape kits in this country that have never been tested. Never. Been. Tested. Victims have the courage to come forward “and then nothing is done about it. What are we saying?” Hargitay asks at the beginning of the new HBO documentary I Am Evidence, for which she is also a producer. “We’re saying you don’t matter.”
The film, which premiered last night, is harrowing. It takes you to the police headquarters and district attorneys' offices in Detroit, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, where law enforcement officials are trying to work through the rape kits they have neglected for decades. The statistics will shock you. When the problem was first discovered, it was estimated that some 400,000 rape kits hadn't been tested. They were sitting in abandoned warehouses or storage facilities prosecutors weren't even aware of. In Los Angeles, 86 percent of assaults reported to the police aren't even referred to the district attorney.
You will be told that the reason they weren't tested is because the departments didn't have the time or resources, which is true, but what is also true, and what is one of the most depressing truths I Am Evidence brings to light is that, when it was the right victim—a victim who was upper class, who seemed prudent, who was white—the time and the money was found.
There are more than 200,000 rape kits in this country that have never been tested.
Testing the kits isn't just about justice for one person, one victim; even after the statute of limitations has run out, the DNA from a kit can help exonerate the innocent or connect the perp to crimes in other jurisdictions. Of the 5,066 kits tested in Cleveland alone, 737 have been linked to serial offenders. Not all of the statistics surrounding this issue are bad, though. In Detroit, they've made 101 convictions since they started testing the kits; in Cleveland, 284.
During the hour-and-a-half run time I said “what the actual fuck” at least twice out loud (I was watching by myself) and audibly gasped more than a dozen times. I choked on my own tears and thought at one point that I might throw up. You can watch fictional victims tell their fictional stories of assault on a fictional TV show 100 times and it won't prepare you for watching an actual victim lay bare her true, raw emotions—as several women whose kits weren't tested for four, seven, 11 years, do in this documentary. None of this should deter you from streaming it right now. Watch it. Get angry. And then help my girl Mariska out by doing something about it.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Got to endthebacklog.org to learn about what’s happening in your state and end the backlog.
RELATED STORY
Danielle McNally is a National Magazine Award–winning journalist. She is the executive editor of Marie Claire, overseeing features across every topic of importance to the MC reader: beauty, fashion, politics, culture, career, women's health, and more. She has previously written for Cosmopolitan, DETAILS, SHAPE, and Food Network Magazine.
-
Zendaya Delivers a Podium-Worthy Pre-Olympics Gown
She's shining brighter than the City of Lights.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
'Love Island USA' Star Kenny Rodriguez Is Not "Playing Around" with His and JaNa Craig's Romance Outside of the Villa
The prince and princess of season 6 have remained the cutest couple since filming wrapped.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
So Many Celebrity Beauty Favorites Are in Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale
Shop Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Markle, and Kaia Gerber's beloved picks.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
The 30 Celebrity Memoirs That Are Actually Worth Reading
Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Jessica Simpson, and more drop some serious bombshells in these pages.
By Andrea Park Published
-
How Victoria Justice Learned to Use Her Voice on the Set of 'Victorious'
The former Nickelodeon star recalls what it was like to speak up to adults on set as a child.
By Sadie Bell Published
-
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones Tease an Announcement: "We've Got Some News to Share"
The former 'Normal People' costars and IRL best friends seem to have a new project in the works.
By Sadie Bell Published
-
The Woman Who Inspired Martha in 'Baby Reindeer' Calls the Series "a Work of Fiction" In a YouTube Interview
A woman has come forward as the alleged inspiration behind Martha in the hit Netflix series.
By Sadie Bell Last updated
-
The Best 'Friends' Episodes of All Time
Could these BE any better?
By Katherine J. Igoe Published
-
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ 2023: Everything We Know
Cue up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise."
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
Who Is Gerry Turner, the ‘Golden Bachelor’?
The Indiana native is the first senior citizen to join Bachelor Nation.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know
Here's everything we know on the upcoming episodes.
By Andrea Park Last updated