The U.S. Department of State held a public briefing on October 14, 2002. The guest speaker, Sebastian Junger, an investigative reporter and author, discussed his report that was published in Vanity Fair on the sexual exploitation of trafficked women in the Balkans. The briefing was sponsored by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

The goal of the briefing was to work towards stopping trafficking and slavery and to encourage the establishment of alternative communication services in remote, hostile countries through entities such as NGO's and faith based organizations.

Sebastian Junger described his experience in Serbia and Macedonia, where he worked undercover. He spoke about one particular woman whom he interviewed, and through her life's experiences illustrated the way in which women become ensnared in forced prostitution. He also highlighted the lack of acknowledgement by the U.S. and U.N. on this issue. He concluded by stating that trafficking can be seen as a global issue, in that is it is ignored and not combated; it could have adverse consequences on the national security of many nations including the U.S.

Members of the State Department, human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, and Eastern European women who work with the exploited women by providing shelter and counseling, were some of the groups that were present at the briefing.