About the StoploverboysNU foundation
The foundation was founded on December 5th 2007 by Anita de Wit. Her own daughter had fallen victim to a loverboy. The sadness, helplessness and a cry for the proper support and counsel was not answered. This was something many parents of victims were apparently experiencing. Anita quickly discovered that she was alone in her efforts against ‘loverboys’.
The foundation is financed by donations and revenue from informative lectures at schools, youth clubs and health care organisations. An appointed board is responsible for managing the foundation’s policies, while also executing the main activities and tasks that have been appointed to them.
What is a ‘loverboy’?
A loverboy is an individual who attempts to bring young girls into prostitution by using seduction tactics, emotional manipulation, false promises, drugs, blackmailing and even violence. They are often fully convinced that what they do is not wrong or harmful. So they have no emotional boundaries to stop them from the way they operate.
A loverboy is mainly motivated by monetary gain, which is often driven to a ruthless extent. Loverboys could even be considered a human trafficker in many of the documented criminal cases.
Methods
Loverboys often find their victims in places where young girls convene and use the art of deception to lure them into prostitution. The use of online chat services, social networks such as Instagram or Facebook and other mobile messaging apps are increasingly the tools they use to gather information, threaten, blackmail and/or deceive their victims.
Stopping loverboys
Aside from assisting existing victims, the main prevention method of the foundation lies in offering information and advice that can avert loverboy practices. This does not only include young girls, but mainly depends on the constant awareness of everyone around them regardless of age or gender. After all, young pubescent girls start developing their identity, habits and private life in a way that is away from a parent’s vigilant eye.
Assisting the victims of loverboys has been an ongoing struggle, with existing social services lacking both the proper methods and understanding on how to deal with the victims. Girls who fall victim to loverboys refer from going to the police for various reasons, one being the sense that they are themselves to blame for what happened to them. The traumatizing experience can leave them feeling worthless, and afraid of the consequences of involving the police if the loverboy finds out.
Education
One key effort of the foundation is in offering informative lectures at various locations, educational institutions and other facilities where girls, boys and other bystanders can be confronted by loverboy practices. Social awareness is one of the most important efforts the foundation pursues in order to prepare as many people as possible for how to recognize and address loverboy practices.
Shelter
StopLoverboysNU operates a safehouse at a secret location in the Netherlands. Girls who are ready to leave the grasp of their loverboy are taken in to start their physical and mental recovery. Together with other ex-victims they can rebuild their life in the safety of a small-scale and homey environment, while receiving proper guiding by health care professionals.
Contact
If you would like to get in touch with us, please write to martine@stoploverboys.nu with any English enquiries.