Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation has reached a milestone after more than ten years of work. According to news announced on Friday, after 16 years, the "End the Backlog" campaign has successfully passed rape kit reform legislation in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Maine has become the last state to implement at least one of the six reform areas of the campaign, marking a nationwide success in efforts to eliminate the backlog of untested rape kits and prevent future backlogs.

According to End the Backlog, the six key areas of rape kit reform include: mandating the submission and testing of all backlogged evidence, requiring the testing of all new evidence, establishing nationwide evidence tracking systems, conducting nationwide inventories, providing victims access to the status of their evidence, and allocating financial support for submission, testing, and tracking.

Hargitay, known for portraying Captain Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 after realizing the traumas that victims often face. The organization's mission is to transform society's response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support victims' healing, and end violence. At the heart of this mission, the End the Backlog campaign aims to eliminate the hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits stored in the United States, ensuring that victims can seek justice and closure.

"Today is a significant moment not just for the state of Maine, but for every victim asking whether their rape kit has been forgotten, left to gather dust on a shelf, and whether they have hope for justice," Hargitay said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "This didn’t happen overnight. It happened because victims spoke their truth. It happened because advocates refused to let urgency slip into complacency. It happened because Representative Geiger, Senator Bennett, and Senator Duson, along with many other inspiring lawmakers, supported a cause that required determination and years of dedicated work. It happened because society insisted that every victim deserves accountability, transparency, and respect in the processing of their evidence."

"This moment is a promise that the system can and will be transformed from a source of darkness to a source of light," Hargitay added. "To the victims who carry this cause in their hearts: this milestone is yours. It’s not over yet, but how wonderful it is to celebrate this moment to honor how far we’ve come together."