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- Incident not first case of metaverse sexual assault to be reported
LONDON: A psychotherapist has spoken out about her experience of being 鈥渧irtually gang raped鈥� in Facebook鈥檚 metaverse.
Nina Jane Patel, 43, said the technological advancement of the simulation made it feel like it had happened in real life.
The metaverse researcher added that she was left 鈥渟hocked鈥� after three to four avatars attacked her moments after she stepped into the virtual world.
In a post on Medium, Patel said: 鈥淲ithin 60 seconds of joining 鈥� I was verbally and sexually harassed 鈥� three to four male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos. As I tried to get away, they yelled, 鈥榙on鈥檛 pretend you didn鈥檛 love it.鈥欌€濃仩
She described it as a 鈥渉orrible experience that happened so fast鈥� that she did not have time to think about using 鈥渢he safety barrier.鈥�
Patel pointed out that her 鈥減hysiological and psychological鈥� reaction made it feel as though it was happening in real life and she 鈥渇roze.鈥�
A spokesperson for Meta said the tech company was sorry to hear about Patel鈥檚 ordeal and wanted Horizon Venues users to have a 鈥減ositive experience and easily find the safety tools that can help in a situation like this 鈥� and help us investigate and take action.鈥�
It is not the first time such claims of sexual violence in the metaverse have been flagged up. In early December, reports showed that a beta tester had alleged that a stranger had groped her avatar.
Following the incident, the tester said: 鈥淪exual harassment is no joke on the regular internet but being in virtual reality adds another layer that makes the event more intense. Not only was I groped last night, but there were other people there who supported this behavior, which made me feel isolated in the Plaza.鈥濃仩