Joe Biden will make a guest appearance on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit next season. The Vice President is flying to New York next Friday to tape the episode, which will focus on sexual assault forensic evidence kit (“rape kit”) backlog and violence against women. Biden, who authored the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, has made clearing backlog of untested rape kits a legislative priority in recent years.
Last year, Biden joined U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to announce that the Justice Department would be awarding $41 million in federal grants to eliminate the nationwide rape kit backlog. According the the Rape Kit Action Project, over 100,000 rape kits are currently unaccounted for and untested.
One of the stars of Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay, is also an outspoken advocate for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Her non-profit, the Joyful Heart Foundation, stresses a survivor-centric, holistic approach to healing from trauma. In May, Hargitay and the Joyful Heart Foundation presented the Vice President with an award — named the “Finnegan Award” after his grandfather — for his steadfast devotion to ending domestic violence.
This won’t be Biden’s first time gracing the small screen. The Vice President has previously appeared on NBC’s Parks and Recreation (twice):
(Via TIME)