Dynamic Africa

Al Jazeera Witness Presents: Lover Boys

This is the story of Ibrahim, a courageous Dutch-Moroccan social worker in the Netherlands who is tackling the high incidences of sex-trafficking of young Dutch girls by their so-called ‘boyfriends’ - the Lover Boys - the majority of whom are Dutch-Moroccan.

It is a taboo subject, but Ibrahim and his allies, including a local sheikh, are determined to remove this stain from their community. 

This raw and often graphic film introduces us to both perpetrators and victims of this branch of internal sex-trafficking.

Ibrahim does preventative work with vulnerable young men in youth clubs as well as political lobbying to get the matter addressed in his local authority.

The complications of working in a country where prostitution is legal for over 18s, as well as cultural taboos within his own community, make for many challenges - and he is only too aware that right-wing elements thrive on any vulnerabilities among immigrant groups.

The film includes a disguised interview with a former Lover Boy, as well as harrowing and graphic testimonies from young women who were pimped by their ‘boyfriends’ when aged 12 and 15.

NOTE: This film contains some graphic descriptions of sexual abuse and some strong language which has been appropriately beeped.

Filmmakers: Julia Rooke and Caroline Pare