Lita´s Nightmare: a comic book helping to fight against human trafficking in Peru
Lita´s Nigthmare is a comic which tells the story of a teenager – Lita – who dreams of being a model and traveling abroad. She meets Carlos, a handsome young man who pretends to be in love with her and promises to take her to another country. Carlos provides Lita false travel documents and leaves the country with her. Upon reaching the destination country, Lita is sold and sexually exploited in a night club. After two years of suffering, Lita tests positive for HIV and is thrown out onto the street by the trafficker. She is finally rescued by the authorities but is very ill and dies. Fortunately for Lita, this was just a bad dream, a nightmare from which she was able to wake up from.
The original comic was developed by IOM Peru with input from the Research Institute for Children and Families (IDEIF in Spanish) under the Regional Pilot Project for the Prevention of Trafficking in Children and Adolescents and Strengthening Knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health. The comic was later updated and an accompanying screenplay was produced by IOM Peru’s Migration Management and Emergencies Unit with support from renowned Peruvian actor and director, Ramon Garcia.
IOM Peru has also joined forces with financial services company SURA Peru, to combat human trafficking, and bring the Lita´s Nigthmare theatrical play. With over 3,900 victims of trafficking, mostly young women identified in Peru between 2009 and 2014, the comic is an important step in making sure that the message gets out to a wider audience.
Lita´s Nigthmare can be found here. Read more about Lita´s Nigthmare in schools here and here.
KJ