Samenvatting

One of the defining characteristics of so-called ‘loverboys’ is their exploitation of victims in any possible way, including forcing these exploited women to commit crimes. In this way, victims become criminal offenders. After a critical review of the use of the term ‘loverboy’, the first part of this article discusses the responsibility of the Dutch probation service in addressing the problem. The second part describes various ways in which probation officers come into contact with this particular group of offenders and how this contact could then be maintained.