Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart is sharing a message of hope at A South Dakota conference. Smart is one of this week’s speakers talking about violent crime and human trafficking. Smart says everyone needs to pay attention to trafficking – not just potential victims.
Elizabeth Smart was 14 in 2002 when she was abducted from her Utah bedroom. Her captors tied her up and threatened her and her family. Smart’s kidnapper repeatedly raped her. After nine months, authorities discovered and rescued Smart.
Now she’s 26 years old and comes to Sioux Falls to prove human trafficking is real. Smart stands quietly in a pale pink dress. Her blond hair is pulled out of her face, and she smiles often. Smart says she was once a victim. Now she’s a survivor.
"I was kidnapped and, yeah, I was victimized and I was abused and many terrible things happened to me. And yes, during that time period, I was a victim," Smart says. "But then, when I came back, my mom helped me make the decision to move forward. She told me these people had taken so much away from me and that the best punishment that I could ever give them is just to be happy and move forward with my life. So, with that bit of advice, I decided that I wouldn’t let them haunt me or bother me, that I would be happy and that’s how I would punish them. So, for me, that’s when I became a survivor."
Smart says she hopes her story arms potential kidnapping victims with knowledge to care for themselves and retain hope. She says even people who aren’t immediately affected must learn about human trafficking.
"It’s important for everyone to know about, because you don’t know if it’s going to be your neighbor down the street who’s keeping kids in their basement. You just, you don’t know. So that’s why it’s important to reach out to everyone," Smart says.
Smart says she applauds work to create a standard of practice to help people escaping human trafficking transition to normal life. She says she also encourages curious people to respect victims and survivors; she says it’s enough to know they’re safe.
The Violent Crime and Human Trafficking Conference from Avera and the Department of Justice wraps up midday Thursday. Follow this link for schedule details.