Current Events > Mariska Hargitay Is Under Fire for Pro-Police Propaganda on Law & Order: SVU

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https://jezebel.com/svu-s-mariska-hargitay-is-under-fire-for-pro-police-pro-1848176102

A criminal justice reform publication is calling for SVUs Mariska Hargitay to quit the show for good and claims the actress is promoting the false narrative that police need more money to end the rape kit backlog. Published in The Appeals newsletter this week, the report slams Hargitay for being selected as one of Glamours 2021 Women of the Year, and call the decision unfortunate because she and everyone else involved with SVU are complicit in what is likely the single worst piece of pro-police propaganda produced over the last few decades. The publication also accuses SVU of laundering the reputation of the NYPD and its sex crimes division. On SVU, the longest-running primetime live-action show in US television history, Hargitay plays Captain Olivia Benson, the commanding officer of the New York Police Departments Special Victims Unit. Inspired by her work as Benson, Hargitay started the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to help end the backlog of rape kits, which refers to the hundreds of thousands of collected rape kits across the country that sit untested in police departments, supposedly because they lack the funding to test them. As a solution, Hargitays foundation calls for more funding for police to end this backlog. Notably, experts as well as The Appeals reporting have emphasized that the backlog exists not because of lack of funding, but because police departments which receive substantially more funding than public resources for abuse victims choose to not send rape kits to labs.

Its not a coincidence that the most frequently invoked defense of police is the supposed safety and justice they provide to victims or potential victims of sexual violence. Some critics of SVU note that shows like Hargitays play a significant role in mythologizing police departments as advocates for survivors when, in real life, its quite common for the opposite to be true. One survey of 20 anti-violence organizations and rape crisis programs that have worked with over 5,000 sexual assault survivors in New York City, where SVU is fictionally based, found the majority of these groups said the NYPD is failing to meet the needs of survivors. The Appeal notes local police departments are routinely sued or criticized for failing to investigate rape cases and retraumatizing survivors. A study from 1992 found that 40% of police officers are domestic abusers. And while just five out of 1,000 rapists will ever be incarcerated, 90% of incarcerated women most of whom are women of color are survivors of sexual violence. These realities, none of which are depicted on SVU, make it relatively clear why most victims of sexual assault dont report their experience to the police. One sexual assault survivor told The Appeal that the NYPD detective assigned to her case had assault allegations waged against him and even claimed that the NYPD gaslit her into believing she hadnt been assaulted. The survivor went on to say: If I had a dollar for every time I heard, This cant be true. Olivia Benson would never let this happen! I would have enough to cover my hospital bills and therapy for my trauma. SVU and Hargitay, whose off-screen advocacy for survivors has been praised by a number of stars and advocates including #MeToo co-founder Tarana Burke, have yet to respond to The Appeals demand that she quit the show for its misleading impact on the conversations around sexual violence and policing.

I was watching SVU when the pandemic first started. I was bored working from home so i binged it on hulu. It does take this weird turn from being a cop isnt perfect to its the people that are wrong.

Does she actually write for the show or just act?

because SVU is supposed to be a reflection of how the criminal justice system actually works...?

ssjevot posted...

Does she actually write for the show or just act?

She has directed episodes and is also an executive producer on the show.

peak clown world

On the one hand, SVU is indeed absurd police propaganda, but on the other hand I can't believe SVU is still on the air. Holy shit!

You know they'd have money for those rape kits of they stopped fucking buying tanks, Lamborghinis, and tear gas grenade launchers.

That 40 percent survey isnt even from 1992 and its wrong as well. With more recent surveys not even being in double digits, vastly lower than the civilian population.

These people start shit and dont even have their facts right

DeadBankerDream posted...

On the one hand, SVU is indeed absurd police propaganda, but on the other hand I can't believe SVU is still on the air. Holy shit!

it's not good. The quality dips really bad and it becomes awful.

SUV was always problematic. Benson's partner would do police brutality every other show. One time he even talked a rapist who just got out to rape again by going this his group theory sessions and being like... let's do some crimes.

Lebronwon posted...

She has directed episodes and is also an executive producer on the show.

I think that's a fair criticism then. Whether you agree with the organization or not, she clearly does have a role in the creative content of the show.

Considering Dick Wolf is a republican I'm not surprised his shows serve as a mouthpiece for the US government's political agenda.

DeadBankerDream posted...

On the one hand, SVU is indeed absurd police propaganda, but on the other hand I can't believe SVU is still on the air. Holy shit!

If that blows your mind, the original grand daddy Law & Order is returning next year after a 10 year hiatus to do season 21

What a stupid article, its a cop drama show

cjsdowg posted...

SUV was always problematic. Benson's partner would do police brutality every other show. One time he even talked a rapist who just got out to rape again by going this his group theory sessions and being like... let's do some crimes.

Yeah, they are all dirty cops and break laws themselves but that's okay because we are supposed to root for them because it's to get the bad guys and protect and empower women.

Unknown5uspect posted...

You know they'd have money for those rape kits of they stopped fucking buying tanks, Lamborghinis, and tear gas grenade launchers.

Point of fact, any police department that has a Lamborghini likely confiscated it from a drug dealer or other criminal. And usually laws forbid them to sell them. So they get turned into community out reach cars or else used for rapid organ transplant in weird situations where they can't do the transplant at the one hospital and a helicopter isn't available.

law and order was in an episode of adam ruins everything about the hymen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ikXim4wevc