Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bedroom, which she shared with her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 5 2002.
For months the teenager was raped and drugged while her captors forced her to drink alcohol and watch pornography.
The 14-year-old's kidnappers - Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee - attempted to indoctrinate her with religious beliefs.
Eventually, a passerby noticed Mitchell walking down the street with a young girl wearing a wig and sunglasses, and he was reported to the police and Elizabeth was found less than 24 hours later.
Today, the now 30-year-old participated in a Reddit forum titled 'Ask Me Anything.'
And one of the top rated questions read: '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.)'
Elizabeth replied with three clear points:
- Make sure your child knows that they are loved unconditionally, and make sure your child knows what unconditionally means
- 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
-
Should anyone hurt your child or threaten them in anyway, they need to tell you.
She later added, 'Practice screaming, encourage your kids to fight back, there is a place and a time when it’s not only acceptable it’s encouraged.'