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Kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart has joined the syndicated TV show "Crime Watch Daily" as a correspondent, and in her first episode discussed Brigham Young University's Honor Code and the stories of two women who reported being sexually assaulted to the Provo school.
Smart interviewed Hailey Allen and Colleen Dietz, who both have said that the school punished them for violating aspects of the private school's Honor Code when they reported being raped.
"It really makes me feel terrible to think that these women are not coming forward and getting the help that they not only need but deserve because they're too worried about the rules that are in place, worried that they'll get expelled," Smart said in the episode, which aired Wednesday on Fox 13.
Smart said the women's stories remind her of "what I felt and what I went through."
In 2003, Smart was kidnapped at age 14 from her Salt Lake City home and held captive for nine months by Brian David Mitchell, who repeatedly raped her.
"I have been physically chained up, and I have been, well, 'manipulatedly' chained up," Smart told Dietz in the episode. "I can say that that power, that manipulation, is so much stronger than any chain anyone could put on me."
Allen has said that her ex-boyfriend raped her multiple times — choking her in one case and breaking into her home another time.
She said she was threatened with expulsion when she reported to the school in 2004.
BYU announced last week that it has formed a committee to review the relationship between its Title IX office, federally tasked with investigating sexual assaults, and its Honor Code Office. It is also accepting comments about its process.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — which owns BYU — last week issued a statement, saying: "Assault of any kind is a serious criminal offense, and we support its reporting, investigation and prosecution to the full extent of the law. Victims of assault or recipients of unwelcome sexual attention should be treated with sensitivity, compassion and respect and should feel that those to whom they disclose the assault are committed to helping them deal with the trauma they have experienced."
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins added Wednesday that "victims of sexual assault are never disciplined for being a victim of sexual assault."
Smart will be working with the program on an ongoing basis, according to show producers.
"We teamed with Elizabeth Smart because we respect the work she has done all over the country as an advocate and think she has an important voice that should be heard on a regular basis," producers said in a statement. "We are looking forward to teaming up with Elizabeth on a regular basis so that she can tell more stories and share her unique perspective."
Twitter: @racheltachel