When I say I'm a huge Law and Order: SVU fan, I really mean that I'm obsessed. Like, literally. To prove it, let me just say that I ran across campus last night in order to catch the episode. And it was worth it. I have looked forward to this episode, titled "Behave", since I heard of its conception. And unlike some of the episodes that are purely creative writing, this one had it's base in a horrible truth - the rape kit backlog.
Some background on my dedication to sexual assault awareness. I spent the summer before college watching every Law and Order: SVU episode on Netflix. I fell in love, not just with the characters, but with the issues that the show took on. Before SVU, rape was a taboo, something that just wasn't talked about. Over the course of 12 season, SVU has changed that. One of the lead detectives, Olivia Benson, is played by Mariska Hargitay. She has repeated the story of how she went on to found the Joyful Heart Foundation many times. Most actors and actresses receive letters when they step into the spotlight and Mariska was no different. But instead of getting letters asking for autographs, she had letters from rape victims telling about their assaults for the first time. She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2005, an organization that helps shed light onto the issues of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
One of the pieces of jewelry that I never remove is a gold necklace that's proceeds went to the Joyful Heart Foundation - a small gold plaque with the word "FEARLESSNESS" inscribed on the front. The JHF has quickly become my charity of choice.
This most recent SVU episode is based off one of the JHF's survivors. She was raped multiple times, yet submitted herself to further humiliation by having a rape kit done, a four to six hour procedure, in order to try and catch the rapist. It sat in a police evidence room, never tested. The JHF's newest goal is to end the backlog of rape kits that is prevolent across the nation. Visit End The Backlog to learn more about this issue and how you can help.
By not testing these kits, law enforcement officials are sending two messages. One goes to the rapists, letting them know it is alright to continue committing these truly heinous crimes. The other, more importantly, goes to the victims, telling them that their case is not important. This cannot continue.
Showing posts with label SVU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SVU. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Summertime.
...And the living is easy. Or so the song goes.
I guess it's true, though. I spend my days, 8 to 3, sitting in an office with a computer and telephone. Most of the time is spent on Facebook or playing pointless games or catching up on all that reading lost over freshman year. Plus, the weekly paycheck is not a bad reminder that things could be much worse.
I'm also taking the time to really try and figure out what I want to do with life. I entered college determined to be the 5% that never changes their mind about what they want to do. Entering with two majors in English and Secondary Education was the first step in my goal of becoming a high school English teacher. I had loved reading since a young age and wanted to share that with future generations. It all changed over the summer between senior high school year and move-in day of freshman year.
I spent the summer watching every episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I had never really been into the crime genre until reading a series of books dealing with it and became hooked. Knowing that my weight, which is less-than-ideal for most people, would prohibit me from taking the Police Academy test and passing, I focused on the other half of the title, the 'order' part of things. Alex Cabot become my goal. I wanted to fight for the proverbial "good guys" with my perfectly groomed blonde hair and impeciable lawyer fashion. While I lack the blonde locks from my childhood and haven't quite gotten my skirts and tailored jackets together, the prosecutors are still what I aim to become.
And before anyone points out that life as an assistant district attorney is nothing like what is portrayed on television, I realized that a while ago from simply researching.
Instead of looking for good schools to get a Masters in English, I've been researching law schools. Instead of reading up on the Classics that every good English major should know inside and out, I thumb through "Criminal Law in a Nutshell."
The hardest part is trying to convince my family that I am serious about considering law school. Every time my sister catches me looking into New York Law School or NYU, she has to comment that it won't matter, that I'm going to be an English teacher, not a lawyer. My mother found out when she joined Facebook and saw that, in my profile, I had said I was considering becoming a prosecutor. Somehow, I get the feeling that they don't think I can do it or that I'm blindly following a friend who is also planning on going into law. I wish I could tell them I'm not. I feel a genuine passion for this and even though I still plan on double majoring in both English (which I've heard is a good undergrad degree to start law school with) and Secondary Education (a fall back if anything else), I have added the minors of Political Science and Writing and Rhetoric and I'm currently toying with the idea of a third minor in Communications.
I've been looking for internships for my junior or senior year. Most of them are through the Washington Center in D.C. There's placements in NCIS, the US Marshal Service, the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General's office. When I bring these up with my mother, she seems skeptical about their significance to education and how it would help me become a better teacher. It's as if she doesn't think I am serious about all this when I really want to scream it from the mountaintop that this is the course I want to take in life. I just don't understand why some people are so unsupportive of my goal in life, as uncertain and unlike the person they know it is. Yes, I started as a high school English teacher, but things have changed and what I really want to spend my life doing is standing in front of twelve jurors and argue my case.
I guess it's true, though. I spend my days, 8 to 3, sitting in an office with a computer and telephone. Most of the time is spent on Facebook or playing pointless games or catching up on all that reading lost over freshman year. Plus, the weekly paycheck is not a bad reminder that things could be much worse.
I'm also taking the time to really try and figure out what I want to do with life. I entered college determined to be the 5% that never changes their mind about what they want to do. Entering with two majors in English and Secondary Education was the first step in my goal of becoming a high school English teacher. I had loved reading since a young age and wanted to share that with future generations. It all changed over the summer between senior high school year and move-in day of freshman year.
I spent the summer watching every episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I had never really been into the crime genre until reading a series of books dealing with it and became hooked. Knowing that my weight, which is less-than-ideal for most people, would prohibit me from taking the Police Academy test and passing, I focused on the other half of the title, the 'order' part of things. Alex Cabot become my goal. I wanted to fight for the proverbial "good guys" with my perfectly groomed blonde hair and impeciable lawyer fashion. While I lack the blonde locks from my childhood and haven't quite gotten my skirts and tailored jackets together, the prosecutors are still what I aim to become.
And before anyone points out that life as an assistant district attorney is nothing like what is portrayed on television, I realized that a while ago from simply researching.
Instead of looking for good schools to get a Masters in English, I've been researching law schools. Instead of reading up on the Classics that every good English major should know inside and out, I thumb through "Criminal Law in a Nutshell."
The hardest part is trying to convince my family that I am serious about considering law school. Every time my sister catches me looking into New York Law School or NYU, she has to comment that it won't matter, that I'm going to be an English teacher, not a lawyer. My mother found out when she joined Facebook and saw that, in my profile, I had said I was considering becoming a prosecutor. Somehow, I get the feeling that they don't think I can do it or that I'm blindly following a friend who is also planning on going into law. I wish I could tell them I'm not. I feel a genuine passion for this and even though I still plan on double majoring in both English (which I've heard is a good undergrad degree to start law school with) and Secondary Education (a fall back if anything else), I have added the minors of Political Science and Writing and Rhetoric and I'm currently toying with the idea of a third minor in Communications.
I've been looking for internships for my junior or senior year. Most of them are through the Washington Center in D.C. There's placements in NCIS, the US Marshal Service, the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General's office. When I bring these up with my mother, she seems skeptical about their significance to education and how it would help me become a better teacher. It's as if she doesn't think I am serious about all this when I really want to scream it from the mountaintop that this is the course I want to take in life. I just don't understand why some people are so unsupportive of my goal in life, as uncertain and unlike the person they know it is. Yes, I started as a high school English teacher, but things have changed and what I really want to spend my life doing is standing in front of twelve jurors and argue my case.
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