More women are coming forward to report having experienced sexual assault and rape on the metaverse. This is a worrying trend, especially considering that one in five women in the UK has been victims of such violence. The issue of safety for women must be addressed before the metaverse becomes a platform for male violence.
Women and children are most likely to be victims of metaverse sexual assault
In the UK, one in five women has been sexually assaulted or raped. If this trend continues, the metaverse could turn into a safe space for male violence. With more women coming forward with their experiences, it’s clear that the safety of women in the metaverse needs to be addressed.
Metaverses are sprawling virtual worlds that may be disguised as social simulations and games. They’ve been around for a while, but they’re now entering a new phase. But as a result, there’s no oversight and no accountability. The risks are high, and no one can be certain of what is allowed and what’s not.
The concept of a metaverse is a new trend in cyberspace. The concept is similar to the concept of the internet, but it allows people to interact with others in a different dimension. People who engage in these virtual worlds can make friends, shop, and interact with others. Unfortunately, this type of digital environment can also lead to sexual exploitation, especially of children.
Moderation challenges
One of the challenges of the metaverse is the issue of sexual assault. This type of abuse is highly fluid, context-dependent, and difficult to prevent. It can be particularly harmful for younger users. However, there are some strategies that can help parents prevent such abuse from happening. One approach is to limit exposure of children to certain types of content and to monitor the activity of users.
A recent report published by the American NGO SumOfUs details a case where a researcher was raped in a metaverse game. In a party, she was led into a private room, then turned around to reveal a user who raped her from behind. A vodka bottle was passed around as he raped her. The researcher described her experience as disorienting, but she managed to record the rape.
Another case involved a researcher from the nonprofit SumOfUs who spent an hour in the virtual world Horizon Worlds. In less than an hour, two male avatars approached her, cornering her in a room. One of them made obscene comments while the other stood back and consumed a virtual vodka. This type of abuse is rare in the real world, but it is possible in the metaverse.
Legal ramifications
There are a number of legal issues regarding sexual assault in the metaverse. The first issue concerns whether existing laws for sexual assault in the real world apply to the virtual world. In real life, sexual assault laws are designed to protect the victims. There is a continuing battle to make these laws more just and fair. Nevertheless, it is not impossible to find legal protections for victims of sexual assault in the virtual world.
Moreover, it is difficult to determine whether the law applies to virtual reality, and this issue is complicated by the fact that the virtual reality is becoming more real. As virtual reality becomes more popular, civil laws should be modified to protect users. For example, intentional infliction of emotional distress is a potential legal remedy for victims of cybersexual assault. This is a type of civil liability that is applicable in both the real and the virtual world.
Although the metaverse pledges to maintain verisimilitude, its virtual worlds do not meet this standard. There has been a recent incident of a 21-year-old researcher being “raped” in a virtual world. He was cornered in a room with two male avatars, one of whom was making sexually explicit comments while the other stood by and consumed virtual vodka.
Impact on social media platforms
The impact of metaverse sexual assault on social media platforms is a complex issue. The underlying problem is that no one body is responsible for the safety of people in the virtual world. Because of this, the metaverse will continue to be a dangerous place. This is especially true when users do not know that certain features are available to them.
This problem is not new, and we’ve long had sexual harassment on social media platforms. However, a new virtual reality technology called the metaverse is making it much more difficult to monitor. For one thing, the virtual reality technology blurs the boundary between our physical and digital selves, and creates immersive experiences that enhance our emotional connection to those virtual worlds. This means that the virtual hands that are groping our bodies can feel increasingly real.
As one woman recently revealed, a woman in the Metaverse was gang-raped through a virtual gamification experience. As these virtual experiences grow more realistic, they could soon become as devastating as actual physical events. Therefore, it’s important to address this issue now while it’s still relatively early in the metaverse.
