Victims help others by sharing stories of survival


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(AP Photo/ABC News)SALT LAKE COUNTY -- The shocking, true story of Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping and 18 years of captivity has come to light in her book, "A Stolen Life". With it, Dugard bravely steps forward with her memoir of survival. She is the latest of several young women to tell similar stories.

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Experts say young women who tell their story of survival give other children who have suffered abuse the courage to talk about what happened to them.

Kidnapped near her home in 1991, Californian Jaycee Dugard was only 11. Life became a nightmare. Convicted pedophile Phillip Garrido took her to his house and locked her in backyard sheds where he subjected her to sexual assaults.

She wrote in her memoir, "I try to stop the tears. I tell myself I must be brave..."

Three years later, when Dugard was 14, Garrido and his wife Nancy told her she had gained weight because she was pregnant. She gave birth to a girl in the backyard. Three years later she endured another pregnancy and birth, having another baby girl.

After 18 years, Dugard was finally reunited with her mother. "There she stood, with arms wide open. I walked to her and she was smiling and crying and she put her arms around me and I felt so safe and whole again."


Elizabeth Smart told her story in court. Deondra, Desirae and Melody of "The 5 Browns" turned in their father. These high-profile cases, experts say, give others courage.

Here in Utah we have watched as other young women came forward. Elizabeth Smart told her story in court. Deondra, Desirae and Melody of "The 5 Browns" turned in their father. These high-profile cases, experts say, give others courage.

"You're not a victim forever. It was a bad experience, but you are still the same wonderful person that you always were," Susanne Mitchell, director of the Children's Justice Center of Salt Lake County, said. "We want you to get back to that point so that you can carry on as you were meant to be."

For 20 years, The Children's Justice Center has helped thousands of Utah children, the majority of whom have suffered sexual violations. Mitchell says over that time, she's seen a shift from a time when people were ashamed and didn't talk about what happened to a realization it's not their fault.

Dugard says she is not a victim, rather a survivor.

"That empowerment really lets other people say, you know what I can do that, too," Mitchell said.

"A Stolen Life" will be in bookstores Tuesday. Like Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard has created JAYC Foundation. Hers will provide support and services to families recovering from abduction and traumatic experiences.

Email: cmikita@ksl.com

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Carole Mikita

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