Elizabeth Smart has shared a moving message about a recent partnership between a lingerie brand and her foundation, describing it as a healing experience.
Elizabeth, who was just 14 when she was abducted at knifepoint from her bed in her family’s home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002, has been sharing her journey of healing following the ordeal that culminated in her rescue. in 2003.
in a emotional postThe now 36-year-old revealed her partnership with lingerie company Mentionables, with 20 percent of sales during Happy and Healthy Intimacy Week going to the Elizabeth Smart Foundation.
“Mentionables aligns perfectly with my thoughts and feelings around intimacy,” the public speaker, author and advocate explained on Instagram.
Elizabeth Smart has shared a touching message about a recent partnership between lingerie brand Mentionables and her foundation; describing it as a healing experience
The mother of three said she wanted people to realize that one should feel “confident, empowered, beautiful, sexy and excited to relate to their partner instead of fear, lack of control, pain, danger, betrayal or self-loathing.” “.
Elizabeth admitted that when she first returned home after her traumatic kidnapping, she “didn’t want to talk about what happened to anyone.”
“I wanted to hide those nine months and pretend they didn’t happen,” she shared.
Elizabeth continued writing: she knew in her head that none of the kidnapping was her fault.
“My heart still felt shame for the sheer amount of sexual abuse I experienced,” she admitted in the heartbreaking post.
“At the time, I didn’t know anyone else who had openly shared that they had been raped or violated, and no one took the time to explain to me that there is a difference between sexual abuse/rape versus enthusiastic, consensual intimacy.”
Since the ordeal in 2002, Elizabeth has married, had a family and come to terms with what happened to her and how to cope.
“(I learned) that rape and true intimacy couldn’t be more different,” she said.
“This partnership with Mentionables is very important to me on a personal level, because I don’t want anyone else to go through being raped and assaulted thinking it’s the same as consenting to intimacy,” Elizabeth shared.
Smart was rescued in March 2003 after someone recognized her outside and called the police (Elizabeth pictured with her parents at the White House)
Brian David Mitchell (left) was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and raping Smart. His wife, Wanda Barzee (right), was also in prison but was unexpectedly released in 2018.
Elizabeth said she felt “embarrassed and embarrassed” by her ordeal and didn’t want anyone to feel that way by being intimate with someone.
The mother of three said she wanted people to realize that one should feel “confident, empowered, beautiful, sexy and excited to relate to their partner instead of fear, lack of control, pain, danger, betrayal or self-loathing.” “. ‘
“Being able to enjoy all aspects of consensual relationships should be a basic human right,” Elizabeth said.
“Enhancing romantic and passionate situations should be encouraged and embraced, and to me that means beautiful, sexy lingerie.”
Elizabeth concluded the post by saying that everything they did through their foundation was “help prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else, as well as trying to educate and promote more compassion within communities on how to respond to survivors sharing their stories. ‘
Elizabeth was 14 years old when she was kidnapped from her Utah home by a street preacher and held captive in the woods for nine months.
She created the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011, which fights sexual violence and promotes educational programs such as the Smart Talk podcast and self-defense training for women and girls.
The release was inspired by her traumatic experience of being kidnapped from her Salt Lake City bedroom at knifepoint by street preacher Brian David Mitchell, who climbed through an open window.
She was held captive for nine months at a camp in the woods, where Mitchell performed a mock wedding ceremony before raping her for the first time.
To prevent her from escaping, they tied her with steel cables in a shelter full of mice and spiders.
Elizabeth was forced to take drugs and drink alcohol, she testified in 2009, and was raped daily, up to four times a day.
She was rescued in March 2003 after a couple recognized Mitchell and Barzee from an episode of America’s Most Wanted and called the police.
Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and raping Elizabeth. Barzee was also in prison, but was unexpectedly released in 2018. Her initial sentence was scheduled until 2024.
