Elizabeth Smart Speaks Out
Ten years after she was abducted from her bedroom and held captive for 9 months, Elizabeth Smart is happily married and speaking out against human trafficking. It has been said that is isn’t what happens to us so much as it is how we respond to what happens to us that really matters. Smart is a stellar example of this point. The advice she received from her mother is priceless:
He’s taken nine months from your life that you will never get back. The best punishment you could give him is to be happy.
Elizabeth Smart Abolitionist
Part of Smart’s recipe for happiness has been to speak out against human trafficking and internet crimes against children. The Elizabeth Smart Foundation is dedicated to this purpose. Regarding human trafficking she says:
It’s everywhere whether you accept it or not,” she said. “It’s in my hometown. It’s here in your hometown. It’s everywhere, and as soon as we open our eyes and acknowledge that, the sooner we can start to make a difference.
From Survivor to Spokesperson Extraordinaire
- On March 8, 2006, Elizabeth Smart appeared at the US Congress to support sexual predator legislation as well as the AMBER Alert system.
- In 2011, Smart founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation,which aims to support the Internet Crimes Against Children task force and to educate children about violent and sexual crime.
- On May 1, 2013 in a speech at a human trafficking conference at Johns Hopkins University Smart discussed the need to emphasize individual self-worth in fighting human trafficking. You can see this session below:
Read More…
Everything you’re doing makes a difference. People like you brought me back.
