SVU’ Made Her a Victim of Trauma

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay joined Selena Gomez for a discussion on behalf of Interview magazine and said that she’s definitely got some “secondary trauma” due to leading the NBC procedural for 25 years and counting. Hargitay has been starring as Olivia Benson since “SVU’s” debut in 1999. The show is gearing up for its 26th season this fall and has already aired more than 550 episodes to date.

“That’s been a process. When I started the show, I wasn’t aware of how deeply it would go into me,” Hargitay said. “My husband Peter [Hermann, who also has guest starred on the series] is always like, anytime I go anywhere, my first question is, ‘What’s the crime rate here?’ So it’s on the brain.”

Hargitay continued, “There’s been times when I didn’t know how to protect myself, and I think I was definitely a victim of secondary trauma from being inundated with these stories and knowing that they were true. Those were the parts that I didn’t know how to metabolize, just because of the sheer volume of it. That’s also why I started Joyful Heart [Foundation], so I would feel like, well, at least I’m doing something about it.”

Speaking to Variety earlier this year, Hargitay said that “the world and the culture needed an Olivia Benson” when “SVU” debuted in 1999 because culture “needed somebody to talk about these things and fight for survivors and believe victims.” The same year she started the show is when she learned that one in three women is a survivor of sexual abuse.

“The training really informed how I wanted to play this character in terms of understanding what survivors needed,” Hargitay said. “I think it informed my entire life.”

Hargitay’s charity, the Joyful Heart Foundation, supports survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. “Law & Order: SVU” kicks off Season 26 on Oct. 3 on NBC. Head over to Interview’s website to read the full conversation between Hargitay and Gomez.