It isn’t uncommon to fall in love with characters, whether its the guy you dated who happens to have expert acting skills, or the movie star whose faux-life personality is a perfect match for your real-life self. However, whereas the media tends to depict men as heroes and women as damsels in distress, there are far fewer strong female role models to be found in the fictional characters we see on television. The exception is Detective (now sergeant) Olivia Benson.

In the land of television bred bimbos and sex-symbols, Olivia Benson represents strength. She is career driven while still compassionate, an unlikely combination for a female TV character. Her ability to do her job, which is often extremely dangerous, is not tainted because of her gender. Her emotional intelligence is incomparable to anyone else on the SVU squad, making her one of the most respected detectives in the TV game for almost 16 years. If she were to use her talent for evil, she could have easily taken over the world by now.

She speaks to prostitutes with the same level of consideration and respect that she would a politician. Although Olivia is obviously a fictional character, actress Mariska Hargitay, is founder of The Joyful Heart Foundation. JHF works to help sexual assault survivors in their healing process. Therefore, while the detective may not exist by name, the actress who plays her has implemented a huge part of Olivia’s character into her own life. With $15 million dollars raised thus far and over 14,000 individuals helped, Mariska attributes her passion to her experience working on Law & Order: SVU.

Liv is attractive, and isn’t above using her sexuality while interrogating suspects. She’s also considerably popular amongst the rest of NYPD. However, while she’s certainly a good-looking women, her suiters always seem to be drawn towards her intellect and strength. Unlike Sandra Bullock’s character in Miss Congeniality, Olivia Benson is portrayed as a badass without appearing masculine. She is the epitome of a feminist, and one that is worth looking up to.

Clever, passionate, fearless, driven, and kind; theres a reason Taylor Swift named her cat after her. With so much toxicity in the media, the backbone of NYPD’s special victims unit may be the role model that we need; on and off the camera.

Command respect, do not underestimate yourself, and never blame the victim.