Human trafficking survivor Somaly Mam joins a powerful group of women leaders, including Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep, Jacqueline Novogratz, Queen Rania of Jordan, Diane Sawyer, and Katie Couric, for the Daily Beast’s Women in the World: Stories and Solutions Conference, March 12-14, 2010. This three-day conference, co-hosted by the UN Foundation, Vital Voices Global Partnership, and Diane von Furstenberg, convenes women from around the world to share their stories of tragedy and triumph and work together to create concrete solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing women in the twenty-first century.

To open the conference, Meryl Streep will headline a reading of the documentary play SEVEN , which tells the stories of seven activist women from around the world. The next two days will see panels, interviews, and performances on subjects ranging from adolescent girls’ education, to child and arranged marriages, to domestic violence and sexual slavery.

Somaly Mam will take part in a panel titled “Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery,” along with Luis CdeBaca, US Ambassador-at-Large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; Dao Tuyet Lien, businesswoman and victim of human trafficking; Sunitha Krishnan, Chief Functionary, Prajwala; and Sohini Chakraborty, dance activist and founder of Kolkata Sonved.

Somaly Mam will visit the New York Family Justice Center in Queens, an initiative of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, on Friday, March 12 to discuss issues related to human trafficking, how to identify victims, and what community groups and government can do together to combat the crime.

This event is part of Somaly Mam Foundation’s partnership with the New York Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence and the New York City Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force. As a human trafficking survivor and one of the world’s foremost activists in the human trafficking struggle, Mam will share her experience and expertise to raise awareness of the problem and help further understanding of the obstacles that trafficking victims face. Also participating in the discussion will be Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Human Trafficking Yolanda B. Jimenez, and Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt.

The New York City Family Justice Center Initiative reduces barriers faced by domestic violence victims seeking help by providing easy access to comprehensive services and placing dedicated domestic violence prosecutors, essential community and City services under one roof. With both public and private support, these innovative centers assist victims with essential safety planning, case management, legal and housing assistance. The New York City Family Justice Center also conducts Human Trafficking Frontline training and through the efforts of the center and its services helps identify and assist human trafficking victims.

Somaly Mam joins activist Eve Ensler, actress Reese Witherspoon, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca, journalist Judy Woodruff, and experts in the field for a global summit on violence against women.

The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women Summit, which is being held during the week of March 8th in Washington, DC, is the result of a partnership between Vital Voices Global Partnership, Avon Foundation for Women, and the US State Department. It is the first step of a coordinated effort to end violence against women through innovative solutions, the sharing of best practices, and co-ordination of strategies. The three-day summit will focus on the three most pervasive crimes against women: human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault, which includes rape as a weapon of war.

This event brings together the public and private sectors from fifteen countries for a series of panel discussions and working groups facilitated by leading journalists and activists. Sectors include business, government, law enforcement, the NGO community, media, and academia.

“It is time for governments to invest significant resources in a coordinated global effort to end all forms of violence against women. This summit is the right step forward and I am encouraged to see people like Dr. Mukwege, Eve Ensler and Ambassador CdeBaca joining forces as part of this public-private partnership. Together, we can create a world where women and their children no longer need to live in fear,” said Somaly Mam.

Bill Livermore, executive director of the Somaly Mam Foundation, said “We are thrilled that Somaly Mam is taking part in this important effort to end violence against women. As a survivor herself, she knows all too well the key role that survivors must play in creating effective, innovative solutions to the global tragedies of human trafficking, rape and domestic violence. The solution will take collaboration from all sides: government, nonprofits, private organizations, and individuals. We’ve seen the progress that can be made through our own partnerships with the Cambodian government, the UN and companies like The Body Shop and LexisNexis. This summit is an excellent example of that type of collaboration, and an important step toward ending the suffering of the millions of women and children who are victims of violence and the crime of modern day slavery.”