[Feature] Metaverse’s Sexual Misconduct: Online Offences, Offline Damages

Virtual sexual misconduct in any forms be it harassment, assault, abuse, etc, is not something that recently surfaced; it is something of extreme concern for the longest of time. However, are there laws that even victims of these crimes? It is easy to act nonchalant about it and brush it off since it happens virtually and you are physically fine, as a lot of nay-sayers think. With the constant development of technology, these abhorrent virtual offences have only become worse. Why? With virtual reality (VR) now more common in the metaverse, users are exposed now more than ever.

According to a cyberpsychologist and co-founder of the Virtual Reality Medical Center in California. That goes to say that if someone is sexually assaulted virtually, the trauma can very well be carried into reality as well.

In late 2021 when Meta opened up access to its VR social media platform, Horizon Worlds, where up to 20 avatars can get together at one time to explore, hang out, and build within the virtual space, a beta tester reported that she had been groped by a stranger on Horizon Worlds. Her Facebook post mentioned that there were others there who supported the behavior which made her feel isolated in the Plaza (the virtual environment’s gathering space).

Horizon Worlds is Meta’s first attempt at releasing something resembling Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse

Back in 2016, a gamer penned an open letter on Medium describing being groped in Quivr, a game where players equipped with bow and arrows, shoot zombies and demons ─ while waiting for the next wave of attack, the perpetrator who was standing beside her, groped her, and continued to do so after she told him to stop and started running away (in the game). Then, a review of the events around her experience was published in the journal for the Digital Games Research Association where many online responses were dismissive of her experience, and at times, were abusive and misogynistic. Readers were unable to sympathise because of its virtual nature and ‘playful’ context.

According to an associate professor at Ohio State University who reaches the social implications of virtual reality

Many can argue that whatever goes on is purely virtual but certain games do carry a sensory aspect to them. A UK-based-researcher from nonprofit organisation SumOfUs reported being verbally and sexually assaulted while playing Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR as well. When her avatar was touched in game, her handheld controllers vibrated, a gaming feature meant to enhance user experience. She is not the first person who has experienced this kind of severe harassment online, and she will not be the last.

When it happens to you in the metaverse, it is not over when the headset comes off. Just like if it happens to you in real life, it does not end when the perpetrator is gone. The incident embeds itself in your memory and you have to keep processing it, whether you like it or not. It affects people differently too, be it psychologically, physically, socially, etc ─ some may develop anxiety, suffer panic attacks, experience depression, and more.

Internet anonymity and lack of moderation embolden this toxic culture, leading to an extensive history of harassment in the metaverse.

One of the many user feedbacks of Horizon Venues

According to Carrie Goldberg of victim’s rights law firm C.A. Goldberg which specialises in online abuse, this territory has no precedent and no laws in place to protect users, explicitly and specifically against digital or virtual sexual assault. She added that the criminal justice system as it is now has no specific laws around avatars.

Sexual misconduct is not discriminatory, be it age or gender ─ Journalist Hugo Rifkind reported last December that he was sexually molested on his second visit to Horizon Worlds. He penned in The Times, that he was making his way to a virtual Billie Eilish concert with his buddy when an avatar of a “fairly creepy-looking bald guy” runs up and started groping them.

In addition, earlier this week, it was reported that a South Korean man in his 30s was recently sentenced to four years in prison had induced underage victims on the metaverse to film and send images of their bodies from last December to this March. He used an avatar to misrepresent his age and offer gifts to lure his victims in. South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) unveiled last month the first draft of core ethical principles that are fundamental for growing and participating in the metaverse ─ the three values for the metaverse participants are an intact self-identity, safe enjoyment, and sustainable prosperity. In the press release, the ministry stated that there are rising concerns surrounding interaction on the virtual platform. Also, in recent years, there have been a number of cases where a minor is sexually harassed or abused on the metaverse.

IWF’s chief executive said the above with regard to self-generated abuse being “entirely preventable”

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) saw almost 20k reports of self-generated child sexual abuse content in the first six months this year. Incidences of children aged seven to 10 being manipulated into recording abuse of themselves have upped by two-thirds over the past six months. The IWF went on to give a warning in its annual report this year that kids as young as three to six were becoming victims of self-generated abuse.

The current law and ethics’ framework for sexual misconduct in the metaverse is still pretty hazy. There are laws to protect victims if it occurs offline but what about online? How can perpetrators who exploit virtual platforms be held accountable?

Singapore’s Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) was enacted in 2014 to protect people from being targets of harassment or stalking, whether on─ or offline.

Victims of harassment in Singapore have the option of suing their harasser for compensation. However, legal ambiguity might arise when sexual crimes like assault or rape are alleged to have happened in a non-physical medium. In addition, what if the perpetrator is in a different jurisdiction or it proves impossible to locate or identify them?

“The psychological impact of non-physical harassment, just like that of physical harassment, can be short-term or long-term… In the case of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV), the survivour may experience anxiety and lack of control, especially if she has to return to similar virtual spaces in the future,” said Communications Manager at AWARE Singapore Kelly Leow on the common misconceptions that virtual harassment is lee “serious” and has less of an impact on victim-survivours. She added that due to this misconception, victim-survivours are commonly met with dismissive and victim-blaming responses.

A centre, known as SheCares@SCWO, to be located on Singapore Council of Women’s Organisation’s (SCWO) premises in Waterloo Street, will help girls and women who face online harassment and attacks by offering a helpline and counseling and legal services. The support will be available by end of this year. As of the time of the announcement a few days ago, about $1m has been raised for the centre’s operations.

She said that a global study of 30 countries released in March by market research agency lpsos, together with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, discovered that 16% of Gen Zs ─ generally those born between 1997 and 2012 ─ in Singapore felt that sending sexually explicit images, even if unrequested, is acceptable. Only 9% of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and 10% of Gen Xs (born between 1965 and 1980) felt the same.

At the end of the day, the problem is not really the metaverse but the people using it. There are also times when the companies developing the virtual world fail to create a safe ecosystem that shields its users from the improper and inappropriate behaviour they are being exposed to in the virtual space. As much as the endless possibilities that technology has brought, it is also the main facilitator of such vulgar and explicit misconduct. As the line between reality and virtual space is fast becoming increasingly blurred, the necessary law governing it has not quite caught up yet. It is easy and perhaps even less of a hassle if we dismiss these behaviours, but doing so bodes worse consequences because it emboldens perpetrators and sends a message that they can get away with doing whatever they want due to the lack of repercussions.