Bartered brides

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13278577

The kidnapping has been going on for some time, and locals talk of a number of cases so far this year. The abductions follow a pattern: a Hmong girl is wooed by an out-of-towner—whether from Vietnam or China is not clear—who speaks her language. She is lured to a rendezvous to be drugged and smuggled into China, probably near Lao Cai, about an hour’s drive from Sapa. Tall, pretty girls are said to be particular targets.

The Polaris Project.org - For a World Without Slavery

http://www.polarisproject.org/

Musicians Peter Buffett and Akon Raise Awareness for Human Trafficking With Website Re-Launch

http://www.csrwire.com/News/14886.html

IsThereSomethingICanDo.com will address worldwide social issues, feature various charities, and offer new music downloads and live news with revolving subject matter. Spotlighting human trafficking during March and April, the site will feature NGO's including: Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking (ASSET), Polaris Project, Somaly Mam Foundation, United States Fund for UNICEF and Anti-Slavery International Inc.

Was Madeleine Snatched to Order?

Yahoo news UK

Private detectives are investigating claims that Madeleine McCann may have been snatched to order for a Belgian paedophile ring.

Scotland Yard passed on a report from an informant who said a photograph of the child on holiday in Portugal was taken and passed to a "purchaser" in Belgium days before she vanished.

The Metropolitan Police email read: "Intelligence suggests that a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.

Human trafficking may be on the rise in North Carolina

Charlotte Observer

Legal Aid runs a program, the Battered Immigrant Project, that offers assistance to immigrant victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking. The program receives most of its referrals from domestic violence shelters, law enforcement and churches, and Stuart said the number of referrals has “definitely increased” in the last few months.

She said she doesn't know whether human trafficking or just awareness of the problem is rising. But North Carolina is becoming an attractive state for traffickers because of its growing population and the availability of farm work, Stuart said.