Elizabeth Smart has opened up about her abduction 15 years on (Picture: Fight the New Drug)Elizabeth Smart was snatched from her bedroom as a teenager and then raped for months by her twisted kidnappers.
On June 5 2002 – at just 14 – she was taken from the room she shared with her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine in Salt Lake City, Utah, US.
The teenager was held captive in woodland for nine months where she was raped and drugged.
Her captors forced her to drink alcohol and watch pornography and she was regularly tied to a tree.
Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee also starved the young girl for extended periods during the horrendous abuse.
Eventually, Mitchell was recognised walking down the street with the teenager wearing a wig and sunglasses.
Police found Elizabeth less than 24 hours later.
Now 30, she has marked 15 years since her abduction from home with an Ask Me Anything question and answer session on Reddit.
In her AMA post she said: ‘I’m Elizabeth Smart, Abduction Survivor and Advocate, Ask Me Anything.’
She described her experience to Reddit users, saying: ‘There were lots of times I thought, this is it I’m going to die, whether if it was directly at the hands of my captors, or through consequences of their actions.
‘It was hard to believe it was over until I was in my dad’s arms being hugged at the police station.’
But one of the top rated questions involved tips for parents to protect children from similarly harrowing incidents of abuse.
Elizabeth was asked: ‘In your opinion as a children’s advocate, what are some practical, commonsense steps parents can take to help their children avoid abuse? And I guess I mean abuse in a general way, anything from extreme bullying to abduction.’
She said:
1. Make sure your child knows that they are loved unconditionally, and make sure your child knows what unconditionally means.
2. Make sure that your child understands that no one has the right to hurt them or scare them in any way. It doesn’t matter what that person may be: family, friend, religious leader, community leader, it doesn’t matter.
3. Should anyone hurt your child or threaten them in anyway, they need to tell you.
She later told parents to ‘practice screaming’ with their children.
‘Encourage your kids to fight back, there is a place and a time when it’s not only acceptable, it’s encouraged,’ she said.
Elizabeth has since become a campaigner against pornography and abuse.
Mitchell is currently serving a life sentence for the abhorrent crime.
His wife Wanda Barzee was sentenced for 15 years for aggravated kidnapping.
On June 5 2002 – at just 14 – she was taken from the room she shared with her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine in Salt Lake City, Utah, US.
The teenager was held captive in woodland for nine months where she was raped and drugged.
Her captors forced her to drink alcohol and watch pornography and she was regularly tied to a tree.
Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee also starved the young girl for extended periods during the horrendous abuse.
Eventually, Mitchell was recognised walking down the street with the teenager wearing a wig and sunglasses.
Police found Elizabeth less than 24 hours later.
Now 30, she has marked 15 years since her abduction from home with an Ask Me Anything question and answer session on Reddit.
In her AMA post she said: ‘I’m Elizabeth Smart, Abduction Survivor and Advocate, Ask Me Anything.’
She described her experience to Reddit users, saying: ‘There were lots of times I thought, this is it I’m going to die, whether if it was directly at the hands of my captors, or through consequences of their actions.
‘It was hard to believe it was over until I was in my dad’s arms being hugged at the police station.’
But one of the top rated questions involved tips for parents to protect children from similarly harrowing incidents of abuse.
Elizabeth was asked: ‘In your opinion as a children’s advocate, what are some practical, commonsense steps parents can take to help their children avoid abuse? And I guess I mean abuse in a general way, anything from extreme bullying to abduction.’
She said:
1. Make sure your child knows that they are loved unconditionally, and make sure your child knows what unconditionally means.
2. Make sure that your child understands that no one has the right to hurt them or scare them in any way. It doesn’t matter what that person may be: family, friend, religious leader, community leader, it doesn’t matter.
3. Should anyone hurt your child or threaten them in anyway, they need to tell you.
She later told parents to ‘practice screaming’ with their children.
‘Encourage your kids to fight back, there is a place and a time when it’s not only acceptable, it’s encouraged,’ she said.
Elizabeth has since become a campaigner against pornography and abuse.
Mitchell is currently serving a life sentence for the abhorrent crime.
His wife Wanda Barzee was sentenced for 15 years for aggravated kidnapping.
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