The main targets of sex offenders using dating apps were found to be users with mental illness and male users. Courtesy of Getty Image Bank.
About 15% of sexual assault incidents in the United States occurred in dating apps. App users suffering from mental illness were more likely to be targeted, and it was also confirmed that there are more male sex crime victims.
A research team led by Julie Valentine, professor of nursing at Brigham Young University in the United States, announced this in a paper published in the international journal ‘Journal of Violence against Persons’ on the 29th of last month.
The research team checked the contents of the case and the health status of the victims through the health examination records of 1968 victims of sexual violence aged 14 or older in Utah, USA between 2017 and 2020. As a result of the analysis, 14.9% of all violent incidents occurred in the first meeting arranged through a dating app.
In particular, it has been found that people with mental illness have been the target of sex crimes using dating apps. 47% of victims of acquaintance violence suffered from mental illness, compared to 60% in dating app-related violence. They were attacked even more violently.
A high proportion of male victims was also a characteristic of sexual assault cases involving dating apps. Male victims of dating app-related sex crimes were twice as likely as victims of violence by acquaintances.
Professor Valentine, who conducted this study, explained, “In dating apps, sex offenders can package themselves as they want and say nice things to the other person,” and “through these actions, they easily induce a meeting.” He continued, “In the case of victims, there are many cases where they feel guilty and do not report after being assaulted in a meeting.”
He emphasized that in order to prevent sexual assault incidents in dating apps, the company providing the app should come up with countermeasures. Prof. Valentine suggested that “Companies that service dating apps can provide a service that allows users to check their criminal history for free or set up support measures to report assault cases.”