Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

TV Show • 1999 • Crime  

Report
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
This tv show contains 133 potentially triggering events.
Season
Episode
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Yes
No

Your Triggers
Does the dog die?
378 supporters
Yes
21
No
3
6
gallifreygod
Born Psychopath, Season 14 Episode 19, a kid drowns a dog in the bathtub
5 comments | Add comment
Abandonment
Yes
7
No
2
Yes
12
No
2
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Episode starts out with a pregnant child being left alone in the hospital
1 comment | Add comment
Is an animal abandoned?
85 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Abuse
Yes
11
No
0
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E3
Absent parents
1 comment | Add comment
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
At first
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone stalked?
22 supporters
Yes
18
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E1
(Spoiler)



Even though later revealed to be a PI, easy the first half of the episode assumes a child is being stalked
1 comment | Add comment
Is there domestic violence?
71 supporters
Add comment
Yes
15
No
3
Is a woman brutalized for spectacle?
76 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
3
Yes
8
No
2
Is someone gaslighted?
38 supporters
Add comment
Yes
12
No
3
Yes
5
No
3
0
123thecoolest
S14
 E3
Someone is choked and beat with a belt, bruising is shown afterwards
1 comment | Add comment
Is a child abused?
93 supporters
Yes
20
No
0
1
skillwithaquill24
Several episodes every season feature children who have been molested or abused in various ways.
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
Yes
13
No
3
Is there addiction?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
12
No
3
Yes
13
No
3
2
skillwithaquill24
Olivia’s mother was an alcoholic.

Several guest starring characters have been alcoholics over the years.
2 comments | Add comment
Animal
Were animals harmed in the making?
123 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
7
Does a horse die?
86 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Does an animal die?
(besides a dog, cat or horse)
155 supporters
Yes
16
No
3
2
Bubbly
S1 E2, Stabler and his wife accidentally ground up a turtle in their garbage disposal
4 comments | Add comment
Are animals abused?
177 supporters
Yes
13
No
3
2
gallifreygod
Born Psychopath, Season 14 Episode 19, a kid drowns a dog in the bathtub
2 comments | Add comment
1
Disabled - season 11, episode 17: around 16.5 minute mark, discussion of dog fighting and cleaning up the ones who die :( dog fighting “clean up” convo continues into next scene
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
15
No
3
1
Nelda
S8
 E1
S8E1. About 11 minutes in, Benson finds a stash of photos of dead animals. One is only a skeleton but the rest are distressingly recognisable as the animals they are and look purposefully injured, so close your eyes until you hear Olivia and Haley start talking.
4 comments | Add comment
Is an animal sad?
74 supporters
Yes
3
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E3
A dog is concerned about the well being of a unconscious girl
1 comment | Add comment
Are rabbits harmed?
59 supporters
Yes
4
No
3
0
Mrini
S20
 E1
Yes a rabbit is shot, and there is an unnecessarily graphic depiction of it’s painful death 3 minutes 15 seconds in.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a cat die?
152 supporters
Yes
14
No
3
1
Nelda
S8
 E1
S8E1. About 11 minutes in, Benson finds a stash of photos of dead animals. One is only a skeleton but the rest are distressingly recognisable as the animals they are and look purposefully injured, so close your eyes until you hear Olivia and Haley start talking.
Adding to this section because from the little time I spent looking, one of the animals seemed to be a cat.
7 comments | Add comment
Does a pet die?
142 supporters
Yes
8
No
3
1
Nelda
S8
 E14
S8E14, a man mentions a family receiving their dismembered cat in boxes on their doorstep. No pictures shown of the cat, only the boxes. About 8 minutes in, skip 15 seconds to avoid.
3 comments | Add comment
Does a dragon die?
1 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
15
Are there spiders?
42 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
3
Are there alligators/crocodiles??
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Are there snakes?
15 supporters
Yes
5
No
4
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
By mention and visible tattoo
2 comments | Add comment
Are there sharks?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Are there bugs?
28 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
5
Assault
Does a woman get slapped?
17 supporters
Add comment
Yes
7
No
3
Is someone drugged?
26 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Is there pedophilia?
109 supporters
Yes
13
No
2
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
One of the major cases that deals with pedophilia
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone held under water?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
3
Is rape mentioned?
76 supporters
Yes
20
No
1
3
Nelda
Almost every episode. It's the sex crime show. Some episodes aren't about rape and are instead about abused, kidnapped or killed children, but if the rape just being mentioned is triggering to you, please don't watch this show, for your own mental health.
2 comments | Add comment
Is someone beaten up by a bully?
20 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
2
Is someone restrained?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
11
No
2
Yes
24
No
1
7
gallifreygod
The entire premise of the show is based on sexual assault
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone's mouth covered?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
7
No
3
Yes
7
No
3
Bodily Harm
Is there shaving/cutting?
30 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Are any hands damaged?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
2
Are there dislocations?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
1
Yes
5
No
3
0
Nelda
S7
 E19
The parents of two children both have their throats slit by a hunting knife and die. Olivia's neck is cut as well later in the episode but not enough to do permanent damage.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone struggle to breathe?
27 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
2
Is there decapitation?
32 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Is there cannibalism?
31 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Is someone crushed to death?
32 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Is someone choked?
15 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Is someone burned alive?
40 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Is someone buried alive?
26 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Is there body horror?
48 supporters
Yes
4
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Broken limps, pile of bodys
1 comment | Add comment
Is there amputation?
25 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Does a head get squashed?
51 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
4
Is there Achilles Tendon injury?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Is there a hanging?
33 supporters
Yes
7
No
3
1
Nelda
S8
 E15
S8E15, a woman kills herself by hanging. Body shown about 17 minutes in.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone asphyxiate?
25 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
Never shown onscreen, but the amputation/dismembering of a penis has occurred in a few episodes.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone become unconscious?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
1
Does someone break a bone?
20 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
1
Does someone have a seizure?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
3
Are any teeth damaged?
51 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
3
Is there finger/toe mutilation?
51 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
3
Is someone tortured?
74 supporters
Add comment
Yes
11
No
3
Does someone fall down stairs?
9 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Does someone fall to their death?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
Yes
7
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
A rapist blinds his victims with ammonia in one episode.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone stabbed?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Yes
2
No
6
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Not really excessive but due to context it's hard to watch
1 comment | Add comment
Children
Is an infant abducted?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
3
Does a kid die?
46 supporters
Yes
19
No
2
2
skillwithaquill24
Episode “Fault”, a child is murdered.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
9
No
2
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E3
The episode is about a minor star who's sexualised by both the public and her guardians
1 comment | Add comment
Creepy Crawly
Are there bedbugs?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Death
Does someone sacrifice themselves?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
2
Does a major character die?
23 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
4
Does a non-human character die?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Does someone die?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
1
Disability
1
Nelda
S7
Yyyes, but the disabled person turns out to be faking - she has Munchausen's, a psychological disorder that causes people to fake or self-induce illness for attention.

I don't remember other episodes.
1 comment | Add comment
Is the r-slur used?
28 supporters
Yes
6
No
3
0
liskoihminen
Yes. By side characters, but by also at least one main character, Munch. It's mostly used as (now) out-dated diagnosis or medical term, but sometimes as an insult.
1 comment | Add comment
Drugs/Alcohol
Does someone overdose?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Family
Does a family member die?
21 supporters
Add comment
Yes
7
No
1
Does a parent die?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
15
No
2
Yes
7
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Blood on children's toys
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone kidnapped?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
14
No
2
Does someone cheat?
18 supporters
Add comment
Yes
12
No
3
Fear
Are there ghosts?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
13
Yes
8
No
3
0
CookedOatmeal
S8
 E14
0:58 seconds in. Glass shatters over man's head
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
0
skillwithaquill24
A woman is attacked while in the shower during the first few minutes of “Burned”.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there natural bodies of water?
1 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
4
Are there clowns?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
7
No
3
Is someone possessed?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Is trypophobic content shown?
23 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Are there razors?
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® (1-800-DONTCUT)
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Are there mannequins?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Gross
Does someone vomit?
92 supporters
Yes
29
No
4
4
Hannnah.12
S11
 E4
A guy discovers the dead body in his apartment and then vomits no visual just audio but in the next scene the vomit is shown as the detectives arrive
14 comments | Add comment
0
skillwithaquill24
A child who was a victim of molestation wets themselves out of fear during questioning.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there farting?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Is someone eaten?
30 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Is there on-screen pooping?
38 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Does someone spit?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
3
Is there audio gore?
39 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
5
Large-scale Violence
Are there 9/11 depictions?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Law Enforcement
Is there copaganda?
26 supporters
Yes
34
No
5
4
skillwithaquill24
All main characters are either cops or lawyers and they’re almost always portrayed as being justified in their actions - even when in clear violation of the law or when brutalizing suspects.

A few episodes attempt to tackle police brutality and/or unethical policing, but it rarely effects the main characters. The few times it does effect main characters, they are typically portrayed sympathetically.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there incarceration?
4 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
1
LGBTQ+
Yes
7
No
3
0
Nelda
Mostly "tranny" and the outdated term "transvestite".
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Is there deadnaming or birthnaming?
31 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Yes
2
No
4
0
liskoihminen
Worse. A man who is in a relationship with another man uses it as a cover for raping women on season 6. He's not called bisexual though, and it's said he's only raping the women for the feeling of power.
1 comment | Add comment
Is an LGBT+ person outed?
21 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Loss
Is a priceless artifact destroyed?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Medical
Is electro-therapy used?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Are needles/syringes used?
29 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
Is there a mental institution scene?
25 supporters
Add comment
Yes
11
No
3
Is there a hospital scene?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
14
No
1
Is there menstruation?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Yes
8
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
A long-time recurring character reveals a cancer diagnosis in Season 21.
1 comment | Add comment
Mental Health
Does someone have a mental illness?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
2
Yes
11
No
3
0
Charlie318
S8
 E14
A girl attempts suicide by putting her fist through a window, it’s pretty graphic. It’s around 20 minutes into the episode, right after she confesses to killing her mother.
1 comment | Add comment
Is autism misrepresented?
29 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
3
Is a mentally ill person violent?
31 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Is there D.I.D. misrepresentation?
17 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
3
Yes
3
No
5
0
liskoihminen
Some suspects are pretty much autistic stereotypes even if this is not said explicitly, and they are yelled at for being that way.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Is reality unstable or unhinged?
18 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Does someone have a meltdown?
7 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
2
Is there misophonia?
30 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
3
Are there anxiety attacks?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
Is there ABA therapy?
15 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
7
No
3
Is there body dysphoria?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
3
Yes
8
No
3
0
xtianwoman
2:9 ‘pixies’: gymnasts are pressured to lose weight for competitions
1 comment | Add comment
Is there a claustrophobic scene?
17 supporters
Add comment
Yes
7
No
3
Does someone have an eating disorder?
34 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
The episode “The Longest Night of Rain” features multiple suicides. So much so that the suicide hotline phone number appears before the end credits.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
8
No
2
0
CatsAndCornYk
Yes, I mean...yes
1 comment | Add comment
Noxious
Are there underwater scenes?
7 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
4
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Gunshots, about 1 minute into the episode
1 comment | Add comment
Is there shakey cam?
37 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
8
Does a baby cry?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Is there screaming?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
0
Typical cussing, slurs, offensive language, etc.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there flashing lights or images?
44 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
2
Paranoia
Is someone watched without knowing?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Is the fourth wall broken?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Pregnancy
Is a baby stillborn?
24 supporters
Yes
3
No
3
0
liskoihminen
Talked about, as far as I remember, not shown
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
8
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E7
Only by mention
1 comment | Add comment
Are there babies or unborn children?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Is there childbirth?
18 supporters
Yes
10
No
3
0
skillwithaquill24
Episode “Paternity”.
1 comment | Add comment
Are there abortions?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Yes
9
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
A pregnant woman has her baby cut out of her. She doesn’t survive.
1 comment | Add comment
Prejudice
Yes
10
No
3
2
skillwithaquill24
The slurs “faggot”, “dyke”, and “tranny” are used pejoratively, especially in early seasons.
2 comments | Add comment
1
xtianwoman
Early episodes use retarded, I’m not sure if there’s much more than that.

There’s an episode in season three covering a woman with Down syndrome and whether she’s competent to have a baby and live her own life.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
1
Nelda
Like the other comment says. It's the version of the word ending with -er, not -a, if that matters to anyone.
2 comments | Add comment
2
skillwithaquill24
“Raw” features characters who are white supremacists/Nazis. They use many slurs, including ones targeted at Jews.
1 comment | Add comment
1
upsteadtwt
Slurs "t*nny" and referring to transgender individuals as "he-shes" are used, especially in the earlier seasons.
1 comment | Add comment
1
xtianwoman
Multiple times in 4x21 — the episodes victim is a trans woman and she’s also referred to with a deadname, as the t slur, and as a ‘heshe’
1 comment | Add comment
Does an LGBT person die?
29 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
Are there fat jokes?
52 supporters
Yes
8
No
3
0
skillwithaquill24
Episode “Fat”.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there aphobia?
20 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
3
Stereotypical depictions of trans women as brutes in dresses and bad makeup
1 comment | Add comment
Does the black guy die first?
18 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
6
Is there hate speech?
28 supporters
Yes
13
No
3
0
xtianwoman
Some of the sex crimes are hate crime based — the earliest instance is 4x21 where a trans woman is described to have been assaulted since she was 12. Frequently by perps in all seasons and by cops in the earlier seasons.
3 comments | Add comment
Race
Is there blackface?
32 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
Relationships
Yes
6
No
3
0
SarahZoe
S6
 E3
Major!! 16 X 40
1 comment | Add comment
Religious
Is religion discussed?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Are there demons or Hell?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Sex
Are there nude scenes?
41 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
4
Is there bestiality?
80 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Does someone lose their virginity?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
3
Is someone sexually objectified?
41 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
3
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
81 supporters
Add comment
Yes
14
No
3
Is there sexual content?
54 supporters
Add comment
Yes
16
No
1
Is there BDSM?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Sexism
Yes
2
No
4
Sickness
Yes
3
No
2
0
gore_enthusiast_101
i cant remember which but in one episode a girl who was r@ped finds out shes ill and doesnt have long left to live and is dead by the next scene. and theres many mentions of terminal illness.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone have a stroke?
9 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Does someone have a chronic illness?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
3
Is there dementia/Alzheimer's?
23 supporters
Add comment
Yes
3
No
3
Social
Are there fat suits?
29 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Is someone homeless?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Is existentialism debated?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
3
Are there anti-abortion themes?
31 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
3
Spoiler
Is Santa (et al) spoiled?
4 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Are there end credit scenes?
36 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
13
No
1
1
skillwithaquill24
Many episodes end tragically, either with a death, suicide, or a miscarriage of justice.
1 comment | Add comment
Vehicular
Does a car honk or tires screech?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
6
No
3
Does a car crash?
18 supporters
Yes
8
No
3
1
skillwithaquill24
“Paternity” in Season 9
“The Good Girl” in Season 20
“And the Empire Strikes Back” in Season 23.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a plane crash?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Is someone hit by a car?
18 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
3
Violence
Does someone drown?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
9
No
3
Is there blood/gore?
53 supporters
Add comment
Yes
14
No
1
Is there a nuclear explosion?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
13
Is there gun violence?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
15
No
2