Rape in the metaverse: a case for the real-life police?
Investigation launched into attack on girl in virtual reality game amid warnings that sexual offences 'rife' in online worlds
UK police are investigating an alleged rape in the metaverse, after a child's avatar was attacked in a virtual reality game.
A girl under the age of 16 was left "distraught" after her digital character was "gang raped" by a group of "several adult men" in an online room, the Daily Mail's crime editor Rebecca Camber reported. Although there was "no physical attack", officers were said to have claimed the girl "suffered the same psychological and emotional trauma as someone who has been raped in the real world", as the metaverse – online experiences often accessed via virtual reality headsets – is "designed to be completely immersive".
A senior officer reportedly told the newspaper that sexual offending in online worlds was "rife". This "landmark" case, said Camber, raises questions about whether "such an attack should be prosecuted under current laws". But critics may also ask whether police and prosecutors should be pursuing virtual offences while "struggling with an enormous backlog of actual rape cases".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'No sliding scale for sexual violence'
Some experts say that rapes and murders in the metaverse "might have to be treated as criminal offences because of the real-life impact on the victims", the London Evening Standard reported last week, before news of the "virtual rape" investigation emerged. Graeme Biggar, head of the National Crime Agency, told that paper that victims would "feel a physical manifestation" of an attack if wearing a haptic suit, which allows the user to sense actions carried out in virtual reality.
Home Secretary James Cleverly told LBC's Nick Ferrari today that while it is easy to dismiss these incidents as "not being real", the "whole point" of virtual realities is their "incredibly immersive" nature.
Jayne Butler, CEO of charity Rape Crisis, has also previously warned of the impact of such attacks. "There is a tendency to minimise online abuse or think of it as less damaging than that committed offline," she told Vogue in 2022, but there is "no sliding scale for sexual violence".
'Avatars not yet legal persons'
UK legislation is "unlikely to cover rape in the metaverse", said the Mail's Camber, as sexual assault is defined as "the physical touching of another person sexually without their consent". The internet also "blurs geographical boundaries", making jurisdiction difficult to determine.
The UK's new Online Safety Act covers the metaverse but imposes the duty of care on platform providers rather than law enforcement. Several sex attacks are reported to have occurred on Horizon Worlds, the virtual reality game run by Facebook owner Meta. A spokesperson for the tech giant told The Times that such behaviour has "no place on our platform", which is why users have an "automatic protection called personal boundary" that keeps strangers a few feet away.
According to the paper, details of the case being investigated by UK police are being "kept secret to protect the child involved, amid fears that a prosecution would not be possible".
Avatars "have not been established as either legal or natural persons", Alexandra Andhov, an associate professor of law at the University of Copenhagen, told Forbes last year. So "while their witness statements can be included in a case, the value a judge or jury would give to such evidence remains open".
And to allow an avatar, and the real-life person behind them, "to sue or to be sued", said the news site, any prosecution might necessitate "imbuing an avatar with legal personality".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issues
In the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
6 star-spangled presidential libraries to visit
The Week Recommends These institutions provide insight into American leaders
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The new powers to stop stalking in the UK
The Explainer Updated guidance could help protect more victims, but public is losing trust in police and battered criminal justice system
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Scotland Yard, Gaza and the politics of policing protests
Talking Point Met Police accused of 'two-tier policing' by former home secretary as new footage emerges of latest flashpoint
By The Week UK Published
-
How sexual harassment is rife in Antarctica
Under The Radar Women have been 'gaslit' over reports of abuse at 'the emptiest, windiest, highest, driest, coldest place on Earth'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Stakeknife: the killer who spied for Britain
Talking Point The investigation into the IRA double agent has taken seven years and cost £40m
By The Week UK Published
-
The #MeToo movements around the world
The Explainer French men have been sharing stories of abuse in the latest calling out of sexual assault and harassment
By The Week Staff Published
-
Can the Met Police heal its relationship with the Black community?
In depth Police chiefs accused of not doing enough to address reported institutional racism
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Nottingham attacks: was justice served?
Talking Point Mother of victim says she was 'foolish to trust legal system' as killer Valdo Calocane is sent to high-security hospital
By The Week UK Published
-
Bronson Battersby: a toddler's tragic death
Talking Point The two-year-old died of starvation when he was left alone following his father's fatal heart attack
By The Week UK Published