In Slachtoffers van de liefde (“Victims of love”) on January 18, Dutch newspaper Trouw stated that the women in the article were “killed by their (former) partner.” According to Trouw, in 2018 it was “to be precise about 33 victims”.

Strangely enough, however, Trouw starts the list of murdered women with Nathalie Polak. Nathalie Polak was 21 years old when she was raped and murdered by Gerard van D, who then set fire to her home. Gerard van D was sentenced to 18 years in prison with TBS (detention under a hospital order). According to Trouw, the two did hang out with each other, but Nathalie “had made it clear that she did not want a relationship. He kept persisting.” Trouw does not state that Nathalie had a relationship with her now rapist and murderer, it’s Gerard van D, who used this in his 'defense'.

The court in the Nathalie Polak case stated that many questions will remain unanswered "because, at the very least, the defendant has not given complete openness about things and has even proven to be demonstrably incorrect and lying about certain things." The court did not consider whether there was a relationship, because the court concluded on this question that “it cannot automatically lead to the conclusion that the sexual acts must also have taken place with consent that night.” Nathalie Polak was raped and killed by an acquaintance, that's for sure. That this acquaintance is also a liar was confirmed by the court. Nathalie’s mother is quoted in the article as stating there was no relationship. Then why does Trouw add Nathalie to a list of women who were murdered by (former) partners?

Stichting Cassandra defends the interests of victims of sexual and psychological violence. We believe it’s important more attention is paid to violence against women. A headline such as "Victims of love" does not do justice to the women that Trouw writes about - especially not in the case of Polak.

According to De Vandale dictionary, love means "warm affection". Is rape and murder an expression of love? If Trouw believes this is the case, we invite the newspaper to talk to us about love. Nobody is 'a victim of love'.

The women in the Trouw article are victims of men, not love.