Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped at age 14 from her Utah home, and held captive for 9 months. This Wednesday, over a decade later, she spoke at a Sioux Falls conference addressing human trafficking in the Dakotas.
"It's everywhere whether you accept it or not," she said,
KSFY reported. "It's in my hometown. It's here in your hometown. It's everywhere, and as soon as we open our eyes and acknowledge that, the sooner we can start to make a difference."
The conference, organized by North and South Dakota's U.S. attorneys, aims to address human trafficking in general — with workshops on internet predators, for example — as well as its relevancy to the North Dakota oil boom, which has seen a huge influx of residents, and cases on Native American land.
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Sturgis' annual Motorcycle Rally is also a topic of discussion at the three-day conference. Last year, police arrested nine men in connection with sex trafficking, and six were arrested this year.
NBC affiliate KDLT noted that Smart, now Smart-Gilmore after her marriage, wanted to spotlight not only the need to catch offenders, but also how victims are treated after the crime has been committed.
"Once they're rescued, it's kind of like 'out of mind, out of sight.' So, giving that extra care and making sure their needs are met, that they have a way to settle back into society, that's huge," she said. "People need to know that happy endings do exist. Children do come back and they can grow up to be successful and happy."
Smart-Gilmore said that she now considers herself a survivor, and not a victim.
"I'm grateful to be where I am. I'm grateful to have a support system that I can turn to. I'm grateful that there are so many people who are willing to listen to me and who want to help make a difference," she said.
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