Understanding The ‘Loverboy Method’ Of Human Trafficking
April 3, 2023
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Trafficking,
2023,
Manosphere
“You’ll see loverboy more in the recruitment phase, where the trafficker’s trying to gaslight, breadcrumb, really get someone to fall deeply in love. They use really manipulative tactics, and then you see them get violent when the victim doesn’t comply, or there’s trepidation.”
Andrew Tate’s arrest highlights a tactic used to exploit young women into human trafficking known as the ‘loverboy method.’ To learn more, a survivor of human trafficking explains how it works and debunks popular common myths.
Rebecca Bender was 18 when she thought she’d found someone to spend the rest of her life with.
After moving in with him after six months of dating, he told Rebecca his job was relocating him to Las Vegas and convinced her to join. As soon as they arrived, her partner went from being her boyfriend to her trafficker, and Rebecca was forced into prostitution.
‘He mirrored me,’ says Rebecca. ‘He used getting to know my vulnerabilities and my dreams as a tactic to offer me everything I ever wanted.’
‘I thought, everything’s going to get better, and this is a dream come true, and I fell in love.’
Rebecca’s trafficker used a tactic known as the ‘loverboy method’ to recruit her into sex trafficking.
What is the ‘loverboy method?’
The ‘loverboy method’ is a common tactic that involves a pimp, sex trafficker, or abuser targeting vulnerable, poor, and often young women with the impression of creating a romantic relationship.
Romanian officials cited the ‘loverboy method’ when laying out allegations against self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother for alleged human trafficking, rape, and the formation of an organised criminal group. On his archived website, he explained a process that resembles this method.
Tate said he’s been running a webcam studio for nearly a decade. Over 50% of his employees were his girlfriends, and ‘NONE’ were in the adult entertainment industry before they met him.
‘You’ll see loverboy more in the recruitment phase, where the trafficker’s trying to gaslight, breadcrumb, really get someone to fall deeply in love,’ says Rebecca. ‘They use really manipulative tactics, and then you see them get violent when the victim doesn’t comply, or there’s trepidation.’
Rebecca says this method mirrors the domestic violence power and control wheel, where the abuser sometimes becomes apologetic and sympathetic after being abusive, reminding their partner of the good times and the ‘honeymoon phases.’