Elizabeth Smart Speaks Out at Human Trafficking Conference

On May 2, 2013, Elizabeth Smart spoke out at a forum on human trafficking at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She addressed the issue why the three young women kidnapped in Ohio may not have spoken out or tried to escape for such a long time.

Smart said that she was raised in a religious household where abstinence was taught and valued. She remembered a school teacher who spoke once about abstinence and compared sex to chewing gum--deriding someone who permitted sexual touching over and over and evoking a sense of shame and lack of worth in a young girl who had been kidnapped, forcibly raped, and held hostage.

"I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm that chewed up piece of gum, nobody re-chews a piece of gum, you throw it away.' And that's how easy it is to feel like you no longer have worth, you no longer have value," Smart said. "Why would it even be worth screaming out? Why would it even make a difference if you are rescued? Your life still has no value."

Smart advocates for home and school sexual education that combines abstinence with building of self-esteem. She believes that children should be taught that "you will always have value and nothing can change that." She is highly critical of abstinence-only teachers who tell girls they're worthless if they are sexually used or violated.

Young girls are often taught, either at home or at school in sex education classes about abstinence. This is a good thing, especially (but not exclusively) to protect them from HPV. Young girls should be taught that they are special, that they have worth as human beings, and that no one should be allowed to rob them of one thing so precious to each young woman: her own bodily integrity.

You may view Elizabeth Smart's poised and poignant message here on the Baltimore Fox 45 TV network.  Photo credit: Baltimore Fox News

There are many agencies available to help women and their families to escape and/or to prevent family violence. See, for example:

Domestic violence resources ·

New Visions: Alliance to End Violence in Asian/Asian American Communities Tel. 734-615-2106 Email [email protected]

Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence

Tel. 415-954-9988, ext. 315 Email: [email protected]

Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project

Michigan Battered Women's Clemency Project

Email: [email protected]

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Intimate Partner Violence Fact Sheet

National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

"Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women"

A collection of news articles concerning domestic violence and sexual violence is found here on the website of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence

If you need crisis help:

Michigan Asian Indian Family Services

24-hour line: 888-664-8624

Help Against Violent Encounters Now (HAVEN)

24-hour line: 248-334-1274

Domestic Violence Project/SAFE House

24-hour line: 734-995-5444

Detroit Police Department Rape Counseling Center and Domestic Violence

24-hour lines: 313-833-1660 or 313-833-9813

Michigan Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Domestic violence service providers in Michigan

To contact Jeanne Hannah with your questions or to view her Family Law website, click here.