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‘Law & Order: SVU’ Actress Mariska Hargitay Reveals That She Herself Is a Rape Survivor

Actress Mariska Hargitay, who stars in 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,' has revealed that she is a rape survivor.

In a new essay for People, Hargitay, 59, wrote that the crime occurred when she was in her 30s and that the man who assaulted her was someone she knew well. “They were gentle and kind and careful, but their naming it was important.” She said they gave her things to think about and process in solitude, telling her, “Here is what it means when someone rapes another person, so on your own time, it could be useful to compare that to what was done to you.” That’s when she came to her own realization. Elsewhere in the essay, she wrote about how survivors have told her that SVU has helped them process their own experiences with sexual assault.

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