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.
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The impact of the attack on the girl’s avatar was said to be heightened because of the immersive nature of the VR experience.
What’s pathetic is to not even condone the men who harassed her and blame the girl for not leaving a game she was enjoying harmlessly.
Not saying any of that is right. But it’s not rape. It’s an annoyance. Block and move on.
I’m not saying it’s rape either. But it’s sexual harassment. And since it’s in a virtual reality setting where the user experienced this in first person, I wouldn’t be surprised it left the victims with a certain degree of psychological trauma.