sorry to get emotional about an svu character but...like, you just gotta love a man who hates rapists and predators with his entire being. that is barba's entire function in the show. all the other characters, they wear different hats, brother, uncle, sister, mother, etc, but barba is almost singularly a lawyer. yes, there are plotlines about his old buddies, but those plotlines revolve around barba choosing to protect girls, women, victims, over his childhood friends. and to him, it's not even a question. he has to.
but what gets me is that he's not an overly empathetic, or compassionate person. he doesn't hug or cry for the victims, he is even rude and mean and callous to a lot of them. he's willing to threaten a scared woman with a similar background to him, to get her to put some bad guys away. he loves the law, truly deeply loves it, but he specializes in protecting women.
his first case was a prostitute who had been raped. the burden of proof in that kind of case, for twelve people, is very high. that's his first case. and since then, he tries and fights like hell to protect women, to go above just simply prosecuting their rapists, to taking down companies and celebrities, etc. he goes after policy and political figureheads, he goes after his own childhood best friend.
he's not overly sympathetic, but he cares about these women and victims more than almost anyone else in the show. he's ruthless, but towards that same goal, protecting women and victims.