My Dangerous Loverboy

What is the project?

‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ (MDL) is a breakthrough cross platform project that will raise awareness of the internal trafficking of vulnerable young girls into the sex trade. The girls, some as young as 12 years old, are lured into relationships by older boys and young men. Showering them with gifts, alcohol, drugs and most intoxicating of all, attention and the promise of love, the ‘Loverboys’ (a term coined in Holland) cut the girls off from family and friends and then traffick them from one town to another. The original ‘boyfriend’ disappears and the girls are then passed on to older men.

Unlike the external trafficking of people across international borders, internal trafficking is a hidden crime. Internal trafficking is a growing, but ignored or misunderstood crime in the UK, Canada, Holland, France, Australia, the USA and beyond. Few of us realise that some of the most vulnerable members of our own communities are being sexually exploited and trafficked from one city to another. But it is happening all around us, right here, right now.

X platform elements for web, tv and mobile

We have already produced a high quality, short drama that tells the ‘typical’ story of a young girl, Jade, who falls for handsome ‘Loverboy’ Raz. Jade ends up trafficked and entrapped in a town far from home. Using this storyline as inspiration, we will create an interactive ‘Free Jade’ campaign with the goal of encouraging teenage girls to look out for their friends. Content, such as lo-fi ‘KateModern’ style interactive drama, observational and investigative documentary, animation, photography, music, poetry, sound postcards, aural graffiti and written testimony will be curated and designed to encourage moderated interaction with the campaign, through web and mobile.

Interacting with our target audience

We know our audience is ‘out there’ on sites such as Bebo, Facebook, Myspace and Youtube. Love, sex, betrayal, friendship, trust and self esteem, issues that all young girls grapple with, are the keys to grabbing their attention. Working with ‘at risk’ girls and those in rehabilitation will give the content we will create veracity and immediacy. The MDL project and ‘Free Jade’ campaign will empower the girls to tell their stories, and warn their peers of potential dangers. Sharing experiences and interacting with others will improve their self esteem and help them make better choices about their lives.

Our objective

Working closely with the UK Human Trafficking Centre and community outreach partners such as Barnardos and StreetReach, we aim to create a ‘template’ campaign to be rolled out in the UK and Canada during 2009, and subsequently the USA, Australia and Holland where we already have potential partners. With backing from the National Film Board of Canada, Screen Agency Northern Film and Media and the UKHTC for the development phase, we are now seeking production finance.