If you’re a “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” fan, then you know just as well as I do that Olivia Benson is a force to be reckoned with. She’s one of the only characters to continue to be a part of the series to date, which is currently on its 17th season.
Benson is such an influential character to all viewers that she was just voted America’s favorite female character by both men and women based on a study done by Trailer Park. After all of the great work we’ve been watching her do, it’s hard not to look up to her or even want to be her.
Sgt. Benson doesn’t have the life everyone would wish for, but she has worked through it to come forward with some important traits that every woman should strive to have.
1. She’s driven
Turn on any SVU episode and you’ll see that Liv does not give up. She fights to get to the truth and protect each victim for every situation they are going through. Even when her mother died after a long spout with alcoholism, she continued to stay at work because she was so dedicated to the case.
2. She’s confident
Whether it’s talking to victims, officers, suspects or other detectives, Liv does not show fear. Her confidence not only gets people to trust her, but also gets people to listen to her and either confess the truth or move towards healing.
3. She’s compassionate
Each and every day, her job consists of dealing with severely traumatized victims and families. Yet Liv is able to comfort each and every person as though they are the most important person in the world. While doing this, she comforts them by reassuring them that they are not alone and it will get better.
4. She’s strong
*Spoiler alert if you haven’t begun season 15*Working in New York’s Special Victims Unit would be enough to break any normal person. She experiences day after day the cruelest crimes committed without end. This doesn’t break her. Neither did being held hostage for days, tortured and almost raped in the opening of season 15. Though she did have to work through this in counseling, she never stopped pushing forward to get back to defending other victims.
5. She’s a leader
Sgt. Benson was not always running the unit. Think back to season one: she was a detective working with her old partner Elliot. Even then, Captain Cragen knew that she was an essential member of the unit. She later became Sgt. Benson in more recent episodes and (spoiler alert again) most recently has become Lieutenant Benson as the commanding officer in the unit.
Liv continues to lead the special victims unit of Manhattan with poise and responsibility as only she can, and continues to provide women with a great example of a strong, capable and independent woman.