This paper presents the initial findings of Swedish newspaper coverage of human trafficking issues over the period 1990-2004, examining the scope, prominence and visibility of the issue as well as the nature of coverage. It finds that the issue maintained a fairly low profile during the 1990's but jumped dramatically in the year 2000 and continued to escalate since that time. The initial jump seems to be associated with editorials written by opinion leaders pertaining to the issue as a whole and in particular the creation of anti-trafficking legislation in Sweden. The subsequent rise in coverage consists mainly of journalistic reporting both about the larger issue and in reference to violations of the new law.