Mother says she was virtually groped by three male characters within seconds of entering Facebook's online world Metaverse

[PrincessNikla]

On a visit this month, the mother-of-four entered the ‘lobby’ – a virtual space serving as an entry point. But within seconds she was pursued by the men’s avatars, who groped her, subjected her to a stream of sexual innuendo and took screen shots of the attack for several minutes as she tried to flee.

She had to tear off her headset – which covers her eyes and allows her to see the metaverse as her avatar sees it – to end the ordeal.

While she could not actually feel the avatars’ hands, Mrs Patel has suffered from anxiety since the attack – and fears for the safety of her three teenage girls and other women in this lawless virtual world.

She said: ‘I entered the Horizon Venues metaverse as an avatar who looked just like me – middle-aged, blonde and dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved top.

‘The space you enter is a lobby, like a theatre foyer. Within 60 seconds, three male avatars – who all had male voices – came towards me and touched me inappropriately.

‘Before I knew what was happening, they were taking screen shots of them touching my avatar, both my upper and lower body. While doing that, they said things like, “Don’t pretend you don’t love it.”

‘I tried to move away but they followed me. I didn’t know who these people were or have the time to stay and investigate.’

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10455417/Mother-43-avatar-groped-three-male-characters-online-Metaverse.html

I haven't been on there, so cannot comment on how often this happens and if she was unlucky or if it happens a lot. I agree that the 'men' (if they were men as they were avatars) were completely out of order.

I totally agree it is horrible, but 'an ordeal' ? 'suffered from anxiety' since the attack? How hard would it be to just take off your headset to get out of it?

Wasn’t there a case with hate speech and a footballer

Not sure why women aren’t more protected online but that was only a tweet and this is more than that

Sounds awful, I’ve heard of this happening in video games so hardly new. You can use a bubble head shield which would protect you so I assume all scum men think if you not using it (and it stops you interacting with anyone else) that your fair game.

The women was also developing her own virtual world /software so I’m sure that’s partly why the story was published. Nobody gets in daily fail with I was mildly annoyed and got over it in 5min.

As pp say, if you are feeling uncomfortable you can exit instantly....?

If you remember how to do so in the moment. The body has three responses to fear - fight, flight, and freeze.

As pp say, if you are feeling uncomfortable you can exit instantly....?

Maybe she panicked because the experience was so immersive and felt so real? Like you would in real life if a group of men were groping you?

@MarshaBradyo "Mother" carries the connotation: respectable, probably middle - aged, appropriately dressed, not-asking-for-it female. It's lazy shorthand.

@milkyaqua

Have you never been aggressively attacked online? It feels real, the body's shock is real, the activation of the limbic fear system is real. You seem stunningly lacking in imagination and fellow-feeling to be trivialising her experience and aftereffects.

So discussing how someone feels anxious enough to go to the press after an 'assault' on a VR where you can leave in an instant makes me stunningly lacking in imagination and fellow-feeling to be trivialising her experience and aftereffects I've been a gamer, and I spend time here and on other forums.

I have also fallen out with people on forums, difference of opinions mainly - yes at the time you feel anxious, but do i take it to a national newspaper, where people will discuss it? no, I dont. Do I expect everyone to agree with me, no thats why its a discussion forum...

@MrsTrumpton

As pp say, if you are feeling uncomfortable you can exit instantly....?

Maybe she panicked because the experience was so immersive and felt so real? Like you would in real life if a group of men were groping you?

taking off the headset would have done the same thing?

Why are you wanting to minimise this womans feelings on it rather than being angry about the men who thought it was acceptable behaviour?

@PrincessNikla “If I thought she had reacted appropriately..” is an awful comment. You’re at best policing, and at worst criticising, how women should respond to sexual assault/sexual harassment.

@Hospedia

Why are you wanting to minimise this womans feelings on it rather than being angry about the men who thought it was acceptable behaviour?

I agree that the 'men' (if they were men as they were avatars) were completely out of order.

I don’t use VR and in fact have absolutely no knowledge of it whatsoever, so I can’t comment on how something like this would make me feel as I really don’t know.

However, what concerns me massively is these men want to use this sort of space for this sort of thing, presumably because it’s not real - but they do appear to think that, because it’s not real, the women they’re assaulting are also free to not have to pretend they don’t love it - so do they actually think women secretly love being sexually assaulted but it’s not the done thing to admit that? Because that’s terrifying.

I wouldn't call it assault, but I do think it's a form of sexual harrassmant, similar to sending unsolicited images or leaving inappropriate sexual comments on somebody's social media, and that it could understandably make somebody uncomfortable even if this person's reaction was on the extreme end.

Yes she could have logged off at any time, but why should women be excluded from these spaces rather than enforcing rules to make men behave with basic decency?

If they were men? Really?

"She should have pressed the exit button" - is this the VR version of "she should have just said no"?

@WhatScratch

If they were men? Really?

There is no way of knowing if they were men is there?

obviously the odds are in favour of them being men - but its all anonymous

She went to the newspaper because it's a public interest story – parents are buying these VR headsets for their kids and the FB Metaverse is gaining in popularity and usage, so being warned about what might happen is a good thing.

I find it strange you want to minimise her lived experience. Where's your disapproval for the men who targeted her?

They were male avatars and had male voices.

As for the question of if they were men, it's the most likely guess about users with male avatars harrasing a user with a female avatar, but even if they were consistently referred to in gender neutral language or were female their actions would still have been unacceptable, the 'they might not be men' angle is just derailling from the main issue.

This reminds me of Marina Abramovich's artwork Rhythm where she stood in a room and told the audience they could do anything to her. They cut her and assaulted her. One tried to rape her, another held a gun to her head.

They forgot she was a human being.

The article below is very distressing:

lonewolfmag.com/most-terrifying-work-of-art-passivity/

@MrsTrumpton - did you miss that line in the above.

Great point about raising awareness on the chance of this happening to others.

@Hospedia -
Press the exit button / should have said no - thats not the same, exiting would have removed her from any 'danger' instantly, saying no doesnt have the same effect

Playing male characters: that doesnt mean they were male. When I used to game, I preferred female characters, but others I played with played the opposite, the whole point is you can be someone you are not in real life if you want to. I played elves and gnomes, I am neither of these in real life.

I think there is a terrible irony in the way sone posters are attacking and piling on the op in defence of this woman’s feelings.

You seem weirdly determined to downplay her experience @PrincessNikla

I'm not sure what your AIBU is?
Is it unreasonable that you don't understand that not everyone feels the same as you? Yes
Or, is it unreasonable that you don't have empathy for others? Also yes.

This reminds me of Marina Abramovich's artwork Rhythm where she stood in a room and told the audience they could do anything to her. They cut her and assaulted her. One tried to rape her, another held a gun to her head

It reminds too of the robot at an electronics show (Samantha? Stephanie?) that was molested by groups of men. It's fingers were broken, it's "skin" had been torn, it had been bitten, was damaged in various places, and was "heavily soiled".