"Mariska Hargitay Opens Up About Being Raped by a Friend in Her 30s"

Mariska Hargitay, known for her role on Law & Order: SVU, reveals in a personal essay that she was raped in her 30s by a friend, emphasizing the importance of naming the experience as sexual violence. She initially tried to push the trauma aside but eventually came to terms with it through the support of loved ones and her work with victims of sexual assault. Hargitay hopes to show that this painful experience does not define her, just as no single part of anyone's story defines them.