Elizabeth Smart was headline news more than two decades ago after she was abducted from her Utah home and held captive for nine months.

On Friday, Smart visited Fresno to share her story of abuse and perseverance, her mission to bring awareness to victims of sexual violence, and fight to hold abusers accountable.

The New York Times bestselling author spoke at the Breaking the Chains Promise Luncheon at the Golden Palace Event Center.

“The more that we talk about it, the more we make it a safe place for survivors to come forward and share what’s happened to them (the better),” Smart said. “When we don’t talk openly about things, that makes it even more petrifying for survivors to report what’s happened to them. And if that’s happening, then they won’t be receiving the help that they need.”

Smart travels the country to share her story and has become a “beacon of light” in anti-human trafficking, according to Debra Rush, co-founder and CEO of Breaking the Chains.

In 2011, Smart founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, an organization designed to empower survivors and fight against sexual assault. 

Society Needs to Approach Sex Trafficking on ‘All Sides’

Smart shared her philosophy on recovery, prevention, education, and support of survivors of sex trafficking and abuse.

Her No. 1 topic: Encouraging people to believe survivors and help them build a necessary support system.

“We don’t need to be the ones to cross-examine them. We can leave that to the trauma-informed, forensic interviewers,” Smart told GV Wire. “It’s our job, as a human being, to show compassion, to show up for the people who come to us.”

Showing up for survivors and fostering intervention is something that needs to happen in all realms of society, Smart says. 

“This is a topic that needs to be approached from all sides. It should be approached in the home, at school, by the government,” Smart said. “We need to make sure that no child slips through the cracks.”

In Fresno, local government, police force, and Breaking the Chains are collaborating on that.

“We went up on what we call wiretaps, monitoring phones, monitoring the activity, finding out how they were trafficking these victims and where they were trafficking them,” said Mayor Jerry Dyer, one of the original BTC board members. “And then let Breaking the Chains rescue the victims.”

Smart emphasized a need for education and ridding society of complacency. Everyone must educate themselves, have open conversations, not be afraid to speak up, and foster understanding and resistance.

Education helps prepare people for the unspeakable. “It needs to be like muscle memory,” Smart said.

The Story That Shook the Nation

In June 2002, the then-14-year-old Smart was abducted from her home and endured nine months of unimaginable horrors.

“What happened to me is not so different from what victims of human trafficking experience every single day: fear, terror, manipulation, and having no control,” Smart said.

Law enforcement detained her captors, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, in March 2003, and Smart finally reunited with her family.

A supportive family is the No. 1 resource for survivors, Smart said. She acknowledged that, tragically, abuse can come from someone a victim knows, even a family member.

Support can come from others, she said. “Maybe that’s a friend, maybe that’s a mentor, maybe that is a neighbor, maybe a teacher, maybe that’s the therapist. Find your family,” Smart said.

Smart, who had to wait seven years for a trial, expressed her frustration with the legal system and lack of belief in victims. Those accused should be guilty until proven innocent, she said.

Fresno Nonprofit Fights Human Trafficking

Breaking the Chains works with local, state, and federal law enforcement to fight human trafficking while providing  care for victims.

The organization provides wraparound care to individuals exiting human trafficking here including, “shelter, long-term housing, counseling services, life skills classes, legal support, and so many different out-of-the-box things that are needed when these individuals are making that courageous journey to rebuild their lives,” Rush said.

Granville Homes CEO Darius Assemi presented a $42,500 check Friday through the Granville Home of Hope. “Thank you for the great work you do saving, last year alone, over 600 youth. Helping them, providing services, getting them out of this unfortunate life situation,” Assemi said.

(Disclaimer: Darius Assemi is the Publisher of GV Wire)

“I want to thank Granville Home of Hope,” Rush said. “Do you realize you have given over $680,000 to Breaking the Chains? Making a foundational platform for us to be able to do this work.”

Donations from the community are the primary funders of the organization and all its services.

“The luncheon is so incredibly important, primarily because it is our largest annual fundraiser and this really helps fund what we’re able to do,” Rush said. “But what really means the most to us is awareness. We’re able to bring community leaders into a room, our community partners, and help them better understand, not just what Breaking the Chains is doing, but the impact it is having in our community.”