--- title: Joe Biden Will Appear in an Episode of 'Law & Order: SVU' description: Joe Biden will appear in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that will mention the backlog of untested rape kits in many cities canonical: https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/ author: Emma Ockerman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-29T00:45:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-25T09:48:21.063Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Will Appear In An Episode of 'Law & Order: SVU' og:description: It's not his first time on the small screen og:url: https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69cf2334fb911006/6988a03b0a4a2267fc9cab7a/joe_biden_svu_072816.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Democratic National Convention: Day Three og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Will Appear In An Episode of 'Law & Order: SVU' twitter:description: It's not his first time on the small screen twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69cf2334fb911006/6988a03b0a4a2267fc9cab7a/joe_biden_svu_072816.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Will Appear in an Episode of _Law & Order: SVU_ by [Emma Ockerman](https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/) ## Emma Ockerman Jul 29, 2016 12:45 AM UTC  US Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center on July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. US Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center on July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Emma Ockerman](https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/) ## Emma Ockerman Jul 29, 2016 12:45 AM UTC Vice President Joe Biden will appear in an [episode of](http://time.com/4070314/law-order-svu-to-take-on-the-duggars-in-new-episode/?iid=sr-link2) _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_ that will mention the backlog of untested rape kits in many cities, as well as efforts to end violence against women — an issue close to Biden, who authored the [Violence Against Women Act](http://time.com/3313131/biden-calls-domestic-violence-the-ugliest-form-of-violence/?iid=sr-link2) in 1994. Biden, who has also considered [ending the rape-kit backlog a legislative priority](http://time.com/4029517/rape-kit-backlog-funding/?iid=sr-link2), will travel to [New York City to tape the episode of the long-running show on Friday](http://time.com/3319325/joe-biden-violence-against-women/?iid=sr-link1), according to a White House press release. The kits, which [contain DNA evidence](http://time.com/3001467/heres-what-happens-when-you-get-a-rape-kit-exam/?iid=sr-link1) from a victim’s attacker, are often necessary to identify rapists and [have been backlogged in police departments across the country.](http://time.com/3000974/in-hot-pursuit-of-cold-cases/) One of the [show’s stars, Mariska Hargitay,](http://time.com/100137/campus-sexual-assault-mariska-hargitay/?iid=sr-link2) who plays Olivia Benson, has been an outspoken advocate of ending sexual violence against women, and is the founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, which[ empowers survivors of sexual violence.](http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/) In May, she presented Biden with [an award for his efforts toward ending domestic violence. ](http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/joe-biden-honored-by-mariska-hargitays-joyful-heart-foundation-w206350) It won’t be his first small-screen debut — he [also appeared on NBC’s _Parks and Recreation_ twice. ](http://time.com/3719599/parks-and-recreation-finale-biggest-guest-stars/?iid=sr-link1) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Will Appear in an Episode of Law & Order: SVU","datePublished":"2016-07-29T00:45:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-25T09:48:21.063Z","description":"It's not his first time on the small screen","url":"https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/","keywords":["Joe Biden","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69cf2334fb911006/6988a03b0a4a2267fc9cab7a/joe_biden_svu_072816.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emma Ockerman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emma-ockerman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69cf2334fb911006/6988a03b0a4a2267fc9cab7a/joe_biden_svu_072816.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic National Convention: Day Three","caption":"Democratic National Convention: Day Three","creditText":"Joe Raedle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4429844/joe-biden-law-and-order-svu/","name":"Joe Biden Will Appear in an Episode of Law & Order: SVU"}}]}] ```