Ten years ago, two young women were studying law -- one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte -- a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.

The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare -- a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.

Producer David Swatling follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel.

Resources

Links:

SOUNDPRINT's Global Perspectives Series
Listen to the entire Global Perspectives series.

South Africa's New Slave Trade and the Campaign to Stop It
The 2010 World Cup held in South Africa did not just mean a spike in the the country's economy, but also a spike in business for sex traffickers.

HumanTrafficking.org
A web resource for combating human trafficking.

Books:

Stolen Lives: Trading Women into Sex and Slavery
by: Sietske Altink 1995
Women in pursuit of careers or trying to escape poverty are forced and tricked into trafficking. Examine internation crime networks and the stolen lives of women.

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights
by: Karmala Kempadoo, Bandana Pattanaik, Jyoti Sanghera 2005
Examine what human trafficking is and its affects, as well as women's issues and human rights.

Human Traffic and Transnational Crime: Eurasian and American Perspectives
by: Sally Stoecker 2005
Russian social scientists study human trafficking from Russia and the Ukraine to the United States.