In a world dominated by technology it follows that more and more people are meeting their romantic partners online, with the UK alone seeing a third of relationships starting from a connection on a dating app.
There has been an explosion of dating apps in recent years with a recorded However, although many welcome the introduction of internet dating, a recent study shows that many users have experienced sexual assaults as a result of dating app use. Moreover, of those that have experienced abuse or assault, a great percentage feel platforms have failed to address their reports of assault and introduce satisfactory measures to protect users. In a survey conducted by the BBC, it was shown that over a quarter of people who have used dating platforms in the last four years have experienced sexual assault while on a date, and a third reported harassment or abuse on the dating app itself.
However, despite these worrying statistics, almost half of users that had reported someone to the service said they felt dissatisfied with the response they received. One year-old user described an incident in where she had been on a night out when she replied to a male she had been speaking with on Tinder. The male sent a taxi to pick her up from the club and take her back to his home where she was raped.
The user states that the incident was reported to Tinder the following morning but she received no response. Another user similarly states that Tinder did not take her allegations of rape threats seriously and comments on her fears for the safety of other users.
She reports being bombarded with messages from a fellow dating app user who had been able to locate her personal details from social media accounts linked to her profile. These messages were said to contain graphic details about how he wanted to rape her, threats that he knew where she worked, and even her home address.
