Booked for this case file

The comic allows readers to make choices, access legal information and help the survivor. Pics Courtesy/Missing Link Trust

Every 26 seconds, a child is trafficked, with the average age of girls being pushed into this hell-hole dropping constantly, reflects research by Kolkata-based anti-trafficking organisation, Missing Link Trust. As a common onlooker, founder Leena Kejriwal realised over time that while welfare groups and authorities were cracking down to prevent second-generation prostitution, no one was really talking about how the public is the biggest stakeholder in creating demand for trafficking.

"You and I are the public. I am responsible that a girl can come stand here, in my passive ignorance," the photographer illustrates, adding that this prompted her to initiate a public dialogue on "missing" girls back in 2014. After creating a discourse at schools, galleries and street corners across the world through a massive missing girl silhouette campaign, installations, games and awareness programmes, the trust has now tied up with the International Justice Mission (IJM), Kolkata, to launch a one-of-a-kind web comic that lets readers walk into the overlapping worlds of sex traffickers, preying customers, investigators, the judiciary, and of course, the victims.

Web of Deceit: A Missing and Trafficking Casefile, launched last month in the form of an app, brings to light the story of a missing teenager called Nisha - who could be any young girl around you, in any part of India. In doing so, it reveals, over the course of eight chapters, how young girls are manipulated; the role technology plays in aiding criminals; how investigations unravel; and the sheer trauma the victims undergo even after they're rescued. "I believe in the power of narrative to build empathy and knowledge. We made a proposal to IJM to collaborate on a comic in 2019. We wanted to talk about how trafficking is moving online; it's no longer about rural to urban, it's becoming urban to urban. It's no longer limited to just the poor either," Kejriwal informs us, adding that the story was inspired by a few real case files.

Leena Kejriwal

The illustrated panels pack in drama and a sense of mystery with a fitting ambient score. But what sets it apart is the engagement factor - you can help clear a cop's desk to find a photograph, role-play as a client, and make several narrative choices to seek justice for Nisha. The narrative is also punctuated with thoughtful questions to the reader on accepting unknown friend requests online, understanding the difference between trafficking and kidnapping, knowledge on how to report such crimes, etc. "During the launch of this comic, a senior inspector had remarked that trafficking is a social issue that involves you and me, not her and them," recalls Kejriwal, adding that their multi-dimensional approach in the comic plays a key role in spreading awareness. The latter part of the story, when the prosecution of the accused takes place, is thus embedded with handy PDFs on helpline numbers, the rights of victims, best practices and previous judgements - so, that you and I, the readers, have no more excuses to just remain passive onlookers anymore.

Are more interactive projects on the cards then? "We're working on the Missing game two, as we strongly believe in the power of media in shaping generations," she signs off.

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