Victim support network wants Netflix to remove Jeffrey Dahmer series

Victim Support Netherlands wants streaming service Netflix to immediately remove the American series about murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Chairman Rosa Jansen confirmed this after reporting by NOS Radio 1 Journaal. Victim Support received a “substantial number of complaints” from people who resent the way Dahmer’s victims are portrayed.

Victim Support will also raise the issue with the international umbrella organization Victim Support Europe. “Our goal is to help victims to take back control of their lives after a terrible event,” said Jansen. “A Netflix series like Dahmer knocks that control out of their hands again.” It particularly bothers Jansen that the series portrays the killer as a “powerful, strong man” while the victims are all “emotional and weak. The perpetrator is greatly romanticized, and no nuance is applied.”

Netflix will “not respond” to Victim Support Netherlands’ request to remove the series from the streaming service, a spokesperson said. Netflix did not provide any further explanation.

Producer Ryan Murphy’s series chronicles the life of serial killer Jeffry Dahmer (1960-1994), also known as the Milwaukee Canibal. He killed at least 17 men and boys, whom he mainly picked up in gay bars. He tortured them, including injecting hydrochloric acid into their bodies, having sex with them after they died, and eating parts of their bodies.

The case sparked even more controversy when police failed to intervene when neighbors and even a victim who managed to escape came forward but were not believed. The series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been the most-watched program on the streaming service worldwide in recent days.

Almost immediately after the series came out, surviving relatives criticized the fact that they did not know about it, even though it portrayed their characters. “I was never contacted about the series. I think Netflix shroud have asked what our opinion was about it. They didn't ask me anything,” Rita Isbell, the sister of one of Dahmer’s victims, told Time magazine.

There was also a lot of criticism from the queer community because Netflix had labeled the series “LGBTQI,” resulting in Dahmer being recommended on many programs about queer people. Netflix has since removed the label. Other labels the series has includes “psychological,” “horror,” “old crimes,” and “dark.”