Police investigate sexual abuse of girl’s avatar in the metaverse

[AsexualHealing]

https://news.sky.com/story/police-investigate-sexual-abuse-of-young-girls-avatar-in-the-metaverse-prompting-nspcc-warning-13041003

There’s no escape, is there?

Poor child. Some male gamers are socially inept and vile.

This really important.

I see no reason why there wouldn't be. Similar progression to real life actions as with the progression of voyerism to sexual assault.

Once again the depths of depravity of some of the male of the species knows no limits!

Some men will take any opportunity to sexually predate on women and girls. This is in no way surprising, unfortunately.

This does happen in children's VR games, men join the games pretending to be children and groom the children playing, they may also try to get information to meet them in the real world. In VR they may ask them to do inappropriate things that the children don't really understand. Everywhere is dangerous for children these days.

Girls then avoid tech because of male nastiness and everyone assumes name dominance is just because boys are more interested in tech things.

🙄

I don't understand gaming, clearly. How is this a thing? Why is a game designed that makes this possible?

The metaverse had to introduce this 'no contact' zone around avatars shortly after opening because women and girls using it were literally (virtually?) piled upon by male players. It seems this girl didn't have one or had been persuaded to turn it off.

I don't see the attraction of the metaverse. It seems pretty obvious that people would behave there in ways that they wouldn't dream of or, at least, dare to in real life. All the nasty behaviour usually constrained by social norms given free reign because of anonymity, distance and because they could see other players doing it.

I think it is obvious to women that men would behave this way. For men, it is obvious that some men will "muck around".

Whatever we think of it, it is these people with questionable interests who click on advertising.

I'm annoyed that being morally sound just doesn't generate revenue.

This is just horrifying. I hope the law is up to date enough to be able to throw hefty punishment at these depraved men, and that it is done so.

Even in a sci-fi book I read recently (ready player one) the female protagonist uses a male avatar in their version of the metaverse to avoid male depravity. Thus proving that such male player behaviour is so expected that a fiction book had to figure out a way to avoid it becoming either a major plot point or risk being unbelievable.

I just find this so odd. Why is this even an option in a virtual world ??

A very pertinent question indeed.

I don't pretend to understand the virtual world but, given the woeful record of the police bothering to investigate real world sexual offences, I can't believe they're going to exercise themselves too much with this either.

Money

@PatatiPatatras forgive me if I'm being naive, but how does money link to being able to sexually assault somebody in the metaverse ?

Boys can be victims of grooming via gaming too. I don't know about being preyed upon actually in the game, but I'm guessing that if it happens to women & girls it's either already happening or will happen soon enough.

Oh I think I'm understanding a bit more now

They sell these metaverse games as being that anything you could do in real life, you can do there?

They need to put restrictions on that, but of course they won't.

About 21% of children aged between five and 10 had a virtual reality (VR) headset of their own in 2022

I'm amazed by this (if accurate).

So was I. I didn’t think they were that widespread yet.

It could be designed out, and anyone making unwanted approaches could be easily traced, you'd think. Where there's a will there's a way...and where there isn't, there's this as the end result.

Please can someone explain the actual mechanics of this to me? When you create an avatar, does the game assign characteristics to it based on real-life equivalents? So that a female avatar will automatically be less strong and less fast than a male one? And then if another avatar decides to hurt, or trap, your avatar your ability to stop them or escape in the game is similar to what it would be in a real life situation?

I don't understand this at all.

I think this might explain a little more

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/young-female-and-vulnerable-a-rape-in-the-virtual-world-90v3mt8t2

https://archive.ph/390OF archive link

I didn't realise the abusers would coordinate to gang up, although of course they would.

I’m really confused and can’t get through the links. How is this possible - is there a button where you press something and you can assault someone? I don’t get it.

You can literally be alive as an avatar.