After several years of playing Olivia Benson and being exposed weekly to issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, in 2004, Mariska Hargitay started a foundation (called Joyful Heart) to help heal survivors' trauma and bring an end to the overwhelming backlog of untested rape kits and under-investigated rape cases. Hargitay produced an HBO documentary, I Am Evidence (2017), about the enormous backlog of untested rape kits in police custody across America.
According to an article in TV Guide, cast members are often approached by sexual abuse survivors who thank them for portraying these types of stories on the air correctly.
Ice-T was originally contracted for only four episodes, but he enjoyed working on the series so much he asked to become permanent cast member.
The series has been the longest currently running American live-action primetime television series since the initial cancellation of New York district (1990) in 2010.