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Elizabeth Smart Today: 5 Astonishing Ways The Survivor Has Transformed Into A Global Advocate In 2025

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As of December 2025, Elizabeth Smart is no longer defined by the trauma of her past, but by the relentless power of her advocacy, having transformed her horrific experience into a global movement for child safety and survivor empowerment. Her life today is a testament to perseverance, focused on her role as a wife, mother of three, and the driving force behind the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. She continues to be one of the world's most prominent child safety activists, using her platform to push for critical legislative changes and inspire hope in countless survivors of sexual violence and child abduction. The curiosity surrounding "What is Elizabeth Smart doing now?" remains high, two decades after her rescue. The answer is simple yet profound: she is actively working to ensure fewer children endure what she did, dedicating her life to prevention, education, and healing. Her work in 225 is centered on expanding the reach of her Smart Defense program and collaborating with national organizations to strengthen child protection laws across the United States.

Elizabeth Smart: A Comprehensive Biographical Profile

Elizabeth Smart's story is one of unimaginable hardship followed by extraordinary resilience, making her one of the most recognizable figures in modern child safety advocacy. Her biography is crucial to understanding the depth of her current mission.
  • Full Name: Elizabeth Ann Gilmour (née Smart)
  • Born: November 3, 1987
  • Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Parents: Ed Smart and Lois Smart
  • Spouse: Matthew Gilmour (m. 2012)
  • Children: Three children
  • Abduction Date: June 5, 2002 (Age 14) from her Federal Heights neighborhood home
  • Rescue Date: March 12, 2003 (Held captive for nine months)
  • Captors: Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee
  • Primary Role Today: Child Safety Activist, Author, Keynote Speaker, and Founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation
  • Notable Works: My Story (New York Times Bestseller), Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up
The nine months she spent in captivity—a period she has publicly referred to as "nine months of hell"—at the hands of street preacher Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, became the catalyst for her life's work. Today, her focus is entirely on preventative measures and empowering other survivors.

The Elizabeth Smart Foundation: Driving Global Advocacy and Change

The core of Elizabeth Smart's current life and work is the Elizabeth Smart Foundation (ESF). This non-profit organization is the primary vehicle through which she channels her efforts, shifting the focus from her personal trauma to creating systemic change. The Foundation’s mission is clear: to bring hope, empower survivors, and drive social change in the fight against sexual violence. Unlike organizations that focus solely on recovery, the ESF is heavily invested in prevention and education, recognizing that knowledge is the first line of defense against potential perpetrators.

The Smart Defense Program and Survivor Empowerment

A key initiative within the Foundation is the "Smart Defense" program. This program is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools necessary to protect themselves and their families. It emphasizes self-defense techniques, situational awareness, and the importance of having difficult but necessary conversations about personal safety. Furthermore, the Foundation actively engages in survivor empowerment. Smart herself, who has testified before Congress and shared her story globally, provides a powerful example of perseverance. She works to break the silence surrounding sexual abuse and child abduction, using her voice to validate the experiences of others and encourage them on their own healing journeys. Her message is a consistent demonstration that there is indeed life after trauma.

Legislative Impact: Shaping Child Safety Laws in 2025

Elizabeth Smart's influence extends far beyond her speaking engagements; she is a powerful lobbyist and advocate for crucial child safety legislation. Her personal experience provides a compelling, irrefutable argument for strengthening laws designed to protect vulnerable children.

Key Legislative and Policy Initiatives

Smart has been instrumental in promoting several key pieces of legislation and national programs, ensuring her ordeal was not in vain.
  • National AMBER Alert: She has actively helped promote the national AMBER Alert system, a vital tool for the rapid dissemination of information following a child abduction.
  • Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act: Smart is a strong supporter of this significant federal law, which created the national sex offender registry and established new crimes and protections related to child exploitation.
  • State-Level Advocacy: In recent years, Elizabeth and her father, Ed Smart, have pushed for new state-level laws that would mandate specific actions to keep children safer, highlighting the need for every state to meet a high standard of child protection.
  • Collaboration with Child Abuse Organizations: In 2024 and 2025, she continued to work closely with organizations like The Policy Project, the Saprea Organization, and Prevent Child Abuse Utah to raise awareness about child sexual abuse prevention.
Her commitment to these issues is ongoing, with news in March 2024 confirming she continues to share messages of hope and perseverance on the anniversary of her rescue, reinforcing her dedication to her life's mission.

Elizabeth Smart's Life As a Wife, Mother, and Author

While her public life is dominated by activism, Elizabeth Smart has successfully built a private life rooted in normalcy and family. She married her husband, Matthew Gilmour, in 2012, and the couple now has three beautiful children. Her ability to balance a demanding career with a thriving personal life serves as an additional source of inspiration for survivors.

Sharing Her Story Through Literature and Media

Smart has chronicled her experiences in two powerful books that serve as essential reading for anyone interested in her story, the dynamics of trauma, and the path to healing. * My Story: Her New York Times best-selling memoir, My Story, provides a raw and detailed account of her kidnapping, captivity, and eventual rescue. * Where There's Hope: Her second book, Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up, focuses more on the philosophical and practical aspects of recovery, offering guidance and hope to those facing their own dark times. She also continues to deliver powerful keynote speeches across the country, sharing her message of perseverance in the face of unimaginable adversity. These speaking engagements are not just retellings of her past, but forward-looking discussions on how to build a safer future and how to embrace healing after trauma. In 2025, Elizabeth Smart remains a symbol of hope, living proof that a survivor can reclaim their narrative and use their experience to effect profound, positive change in the world. Her work with the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and her tireless legislative advocacy ensure that her legacy will be defined by her strength, not her suffering.
elizabeth smart today
elizabeth smart today

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