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Mariska Hargitay Reveals She Was Raped By a Friend in Her Thirties

The 'Law and Order: SVU' star shares her story in a personal essay.

The 59-year-old actress shares that for a long time, she tried to cope with the experience through her work with Joyful Heart Foundation, which is aimed towards supporting and empowering survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Hargitay also reveals that she downplayed her experience, even telling her husband, Peter Herman, that "it wasn't rape" because it happened at the hands of someone she knew and was not a stranger. NBCFor 25 years, Hargitay has played Captain Olivia Benson on SVU, a woman who's dedicated her career to helping victims of special crimes like the one she experienced in her personal life.

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