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Shocking figures show high rates of sexual abuse on dating apps, survey finds 

sofie formica
Article image for Shocking figures show high rates of sexual abuse on dating apps, survey finds 

Most people who have used dating apps have experienced sexual violence from people they met online, a new survey has found. 

Almost 10,000 people participated in the study by the Australian Institute of Criminology, which found three-quarters had been subjected to sexual violence facilitated by a dating app in the last five years.

A third of respondents said the sexual harassment had occurred in person by someone they met on the app, while a quarter had been stalked online.

Worryingly, it was found the threatening or violent behaviours were experienced far more frequently by LGB+ men and women than by heterosexual participants.

Research manager at the Australian Institute of Criminology, Sarah Napier, says the figures are concerning.

“We’d seen some anecdotal evidence that there were high rates of sexual harassment and violence occurring on mobile dating apps and websites, which is why we decided to look into this in a more rigorous way,” she told Sofie Formica on 4BC Afternoons.

“But I certainly wasn’t expecting the rates to be this year, three in four respondents said they had experienced at least one form of online sexual violence on an mobile dating app, which is pretty concerning when you think about it.”

She said most platforms need to do a lot more, including safety by design features, especially as more and more people use the apps to find a partner.

The institute is also urging people to report dangerous users to the police.

Press PLAY below to hear more about what the platforms need to do + users

Image: Getty 

sofie formica
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