Post by Trublu on Jan 28, 2006 16:50:06 GMT -5
BREAKING THE SILENCE
Life imitates art as Mariska Hargitay, star of Law and Order: Special
Victim Units, talks about her efforts to provide education and
inspiration for sexual assault and rape survivors on the road to
recovery.
Playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU has completely
changed my life. It's not just a character I portray on TV; it has
inspired me to step into a second role I'm even more passionate about:
sexual-assault and rape activist. When I starting doing research I was
shocked to learn that one in four women is assaulted or raped in her
lifetime. Unfortunately many women never report their attacks or seek
help because the feel that they are alone or different from others, or
that nobody would understand them. The truth is about sexual assault
happens to a woman at the hands of someone else, and it's the attacker
who deserves the blame. So I want every victim to know that what
happened to her is not her fault and that she is not alone. There is a
huge community of people who want to help, as well as countless women
who understand what a victim is feeling because they have gone through
it too.
After meeting many survivors as a volunteer rape-crisis counselor,
I started the Joyful Heart Foundation, an educational and
inspirational nonprofit organization. The idea came to me about four
years ago when I was in Kona, Hawaii, for the holidays. My friend
Mario Bello and I go every year, and one of our favorite things to do
there is swim with dolphins in the ocean. It's always a cathartic
experience, but this particular time was unique because 15 dolphins
surronded me, something that had never happened before. When I came
out of the water, I felt inspired. It was such a euphoric moment that
I wanted to share it with others. And the Joyful heart Foundation lets
me do that. We've developed three main ways to help sexual-assault
survivors. We want to infuse light and hope back into the hearts and
souls of these women, who often find it hard to trust others after
their attacks. One of the ways we do that is to invite women to
Hawaii, at no cost to them, for a retreat. We've incorporated all
kinds of therapies into the program, like writing in journals and
painting- even surfing lessons. It's definitely an alternative
therapy, but for me the highlight is when we take the women and
counselors out for a day of swimming with dolphins in the ocean. We're
hoping to hold four more retreats this year, and we're developing
smaller-scale retreats in other locations.
We have also come out with the Joyful Heart Web site, which
focuses on teen empowerment. It's a resource guide that offers
information about where to go and whom to talk to about sexual
assault, how to get involved in your community, and how to believe in
yourself. Finally, we promote coalition-buliding among community
organizations such as rape-crisis centers, to help them start a
dialogue with each other. As an actor you hope to move people and
share a human experience, but to actually change somebody's life in a
positive way and give them the courage to heal has been the most
amazing thing I have ever been a part of. It's exciting to help
somebody who thinks her life is over and show her that it hasn't even
begun yet. I like to think of it as taking darkness and throwing lifht
on it. That's when the soul catches on fire. It's extremely beautiful
to watch.
Life imitates art as Mariska Hargitay, star of Law and Order: Special
Victim Units, talks about her efforts to provide education and
inspiration for sexual assault and rape survivors on the road to
recovery.
Playing Detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU has completely
changed my life. It's not just a character I portray on TV; it has
inspired me to step into a second role I'm even more passionate about:
sexual-assault and rape activist. When I starting doing research I was
shocked to learn that one in four women is assaulted or raped in her
lifetime. Unfortunately many women never report their attacks or seek
help because the feel that they are alone or different from others, or
that nobody would understand them. The truth is about sexual assault
happens to a woman at the hands of someone else, and it's the attacker
who deserves the blame. So I want every victim to know that what
happened to her is not her fault and that she is not alone. There is a
huge community of people who want to help, as well as countless women
who understand what a victim is feeling because they have gone through
it too.
After meeting many survivors as a volunteer rape-crisis counselor,
I started the Joyful Heart Foundation, an educational and
inspirational nonprofit organization. The idea came to me about four
years ago when I was in Kona, Hawaii, for the holidays. My friend
Mario Bello and I go every year, and one of our favorite things to do
there is swim with dolphins in the ocean. It's always a cathartic
experience, but this particular time was unique because 15 dolphins
surronded me, something that had never happened before. When I came
out of the water, I felt inspired. It was such a euphoric moment that
I wanted to share it with others. And the Joyful heart Foundation lets
me do that. We've developed three main ways to help sexual-assault
survivors. We want to infuse light and hope back into the hearts and
souls of these women, who often find it hard to trust others after
their attacks. One of the ways we do that is to invite women to
Hawaii, at no cost to them, for a retreat. We've incorporated all
kinds of therapies into the program, like writing in journals and
painting- even surfing lessons. It's definitely an alternative
therapy, but for me the highlight is when we take the women and
counselors out for a day of swimming with dolphins in the ocean. We're
hoping to hold four more retreats this year, and we're developing
smaller-scale retreats in other locations.
We have also come out with the Joyful Heart Web site, which
focuses on teen empowerment. It's a resource guide that offers
information about where to go and whom to talk to about sexual
assault, how to get involved in your community, and how to believe in
yourself. Finally, we promote coalition-buliding among community
organizations such as rape-crisis centers, to help them start a
dialogue with each other. As an actor you hope to move people and
share a human experience, but to actually change somebody's life in a
positive way and give them the courage to heal has been the most
amazing thing I have ever been a part of. It's exciting to help
somebody who thinks her life is over and show her that it hasn't even
begun yet. I like to think of it as taking darkness and throwing lifht
on it. That's when the soul catches on fire. It's extremely beautiful
to watch.