Study a ‘wake-up call’: Dating apps rife with sexual violence

The institute’s researchers said their findings showed a significant proportion of people on apps were exposed to online and physical sexual violence, which was “highly concerning” considering the potential long-term consequences.

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“These impacts include poorer health and wellbeing, including overall life satisfaction, social isolation and lower self-esteem, as well as increased risk of re-victimisation,” the researchers wrote.

Among heterosexual respondents, 79 per cent of women reported some form of online violence, compared with 61 per cent of men.

Rates of sexual violence through dating apps were higher among LGBTQI people, with 87 per cent of women reporting abuse and 79 per cent of men. The majority of the 71 non-binary respondents were also victims.

The abuse was not isolated. Users said they experienced sexual violence online and in-person multiple times from different perpetrators.

Almost half the victims said an abuser unmatched or blocked them, or deleted their own profile, in an apparent attempt to avoid being caught.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant called the study’s findings a “wake-up call” and said more work was needed to reduce the rates of online abuse.

She recommended dating app users took measures not to share too much personal information, and to use photos on app profiles that were different to those on social media.

“Predators and other bad actors are very skilled at gaining someone’s trust and also playing on someone’s worst fears, to get what they want,” Grant said.

“When you are getting to know someone online, it can be easy to forget that the person you are talking to may not be who they seem. It’s so important to take steps to protect yourself and be cautious about taking anything they say at face value.”

Grant said a dating app could instead be reported to eSafety if it did not respond to concerns.

The study’s authors urged dating apps to prioritise safety through easier reporting processes, tougher identification verification to ban perpetrators and censorship of explicit images.

The histories of conversations between users also needed to be stored by the platforms to help victims who reported abuse to the authorities, the authors wrote.

A spokeswoman for dating app Bumble said the company was “saddened” by the findings, but the types of online violence cited in the study were grounds for users to report perpetrators on its app.

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“We employ a number of additional tools and features to prevent abuse from occurring at the first instance, including photo verification, in-app audio and video calling capability … and strict policies around harassment, fetishisation or body shaming,” she said.

“If we receive a report from a member about abuse or harassment that occurred in person with someone they met on our platform, we will ban the perpetrator from Bumble, and we work with police and law enforcement agencies whenever required.”

A spokesperson for Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, said any type of dating violence or abuse “has no place on our platform or anywhere”.

“We continue to work with experts from leading gender-based violence and sexual assault organisations to help train our customer service teams, so they can handle any serious report with a survivor-centric approach,” the spokesperson said.

With AAP

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