'I Want to EMPOWER WOMEN'

TWO DECADES AFTER HER HORRIFIC KIDNAPPING, ELIZABETH SMART TELLS In Touch ABOUT HER MISSION TO HELP OTHER SURVIVORS - AND WHY HER TRAUMA DOESN'T DEFINE HER

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Her Instagram feed looks a lot like any other mom's: There are posts about her marathon running times, reviews for leggings and favorite recipes. But Elizabeth Smart also survived one of the most heavily publicized, horrific kidnapping ordeals of all time — and as such, her social media activity also features her speaking out on very serious topics like human trafficking. “That is a huge part of my life, and it’s very, very important,” Elizabeth tells In Touch in an exclusive interview. “But it’s not all of my life.”

She follows a mantra that is often repeated at her Elizabeth Smart Foundation: “The worst thing that happened to you doesn’t define you.” It’s been 23 years since the worst thing happened to her. Elizabeth, then 14 years old, was snatched from her bed in her Utah home at knifepoint and held captive for nine months by street pastor Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee, during which she was repeatedly raped. While that trauma will always be part of her past, it’s only one small facet of the person she is today: a devoted wife, mom of three and tireless advocate providing a support network for survivors of sexual violence — and programs to help prevent those abuses in the first place. “My family is my most important work and always will be,” she tells In Touch. “But outside of my family, I feel hugely passionate about empowering women and victims and survivors.”

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