Police are investigating a virtual sexual assault of a girl’s avatar, the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has said.

Donna Jones said she had learned that a complaint was made in 2023, triggering a police inquiry.

The virtual incident did not result in physical harm but caused “psychological trauma”, the Daily Mail has reported a source as saying. Police chiefs have called on platforms to do more to protect their users.

The impact of the attack on the girl’s avatar was said to be heightened because of the immersive nature of the VR experience.

  • Cyborganism
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    11 months ago

    Because that concept that YOU are defining here enables the aggressors and, in this case, perpetuates rape culture.

    If I were to be harassed, sexually or otherwise, in a forum like this one right here, the mods would ban the harasser. It’s their duty to allow the users to be in a safe, respectful and civil environment.

    And if I were to be harassed continually on any Lemmy instance, there are cyber bullying laws in most countries to address this and you can be sure the police would be involved. Online harassment is a real world issue with real world consequences.

    Edit: And no, she can’t enjoy the game anymore knowing that this shit happened to her and can happen again and again. It completely ruined the experience for her.

    • chitak166@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      the mods would ban the harasser.

      Yeah, that’s how the forum’s mods decide to run their instance.

      If you don’t like their rules, you can go somewhere else. No need to get law enforcement involved or waste taxpayer money on lawsuits.

      Go over to 4chan and your experience will likely be very different. Nobody is forcing you to go there, though. Taxpayer resources shouldn’t be wasted on making every microcosm on the internet ‘feel safe’ for everyone else.