County Lines Comic Book: Liberty Lines Project, Sovereign Comics and Youth Unity are delighted to announce that we are launching a comic book on county lines! Our comic book is the first ever comic book designed to educate and empower children who are at risk of grooming and exploitation in the UK’s drug trade.
About Us & Our Project
Liberty Lines Project is a Community Interest Company dedicated to eliminating criminal exploitation in the UK’s illegal drug market. In collaboration with Sovereign Comics and Youth Unity, we are producing a comic book to raise awareness of modern slavery in County Lines drug trafficking.
County Lines refers to the trafficking of illicit drugs from major cities to smaller towns and rural areas using dedicated mobile phone lines or ‘deal lines’. It often involves the exploitation of children and young adults to move and store the drugs and money. You can read more about it here.
We chose the comic book form because of its direct and engaging format. The comic will run through the key aspects of County Lines, with a particular focus on the early warning signs of exploitation and ways to get help.
The comic will be distributed in schools and youth-centres, where it will provide an informative, engaging, and fun tool that parents, teachers, youth workers, and peers can use to educate young people about County Lines.
The comic is in its creation stage and we need your help to bring it to life! Our Crowdfunder is now live: https://lnkd.in/dvYGA7z
Our comic is the first of its kind – it is designed to open conversations with children, to empower them to recognise the signs of exploitation and raise concerns if they or their friends are at risk. Our narrative follows relatable characters; children will see they are not alone and that they too can become superheroes of their own stories. It will signpost readers to relevant organisations/helplines that work to support young people and their families.
We are also creating an interactive edition enabling children to explore different narratives where their choices determine the outcome of the story. We will provide copies of the comic to youth and education centres across the UK and use it as a tool to deliver training to children in secondary schools.
Any contribution, large or small will be much appreciated and help us to make this happen!