‘I was abused after meeting man on dating app’
A woman who says she was abused by a partner she met on a dating app is calling for the law to be changed to make online dating safer.
Heather Richardson, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, first started using dating apps two years ago following the end of a long-term relationship.
He said the experience made him realize there were “huge gaps in online dating safety” and that he wanted the previous domestic abuser to be banned from the platforms.
“People who commit serious crimes can access dating apps and choose their next victims,” he said.
Richardson is calling for a change in the law that would require dating apps to require government-issued identification for all users.
It also wants to prevent convicted domestic abuse, stalking, coercive control, serious sexual and violent offenders from creating accounts, improve reporting systems and strengthen the accountability of dating platforms operating in the UK.
“I had a choice to quietly move on or do something about it and turn a bad experience into something positive.
“People can choose to verify their profiles if they want, but there is no standard for this.
“I want apps to require everyone to verify who they are and for the government to work with dating apps and charities to better protect people who use apps.”
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Saskia Garner, head of policy and campaigns at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said the charity had “long supported initiatives to better identify perpetrators who choose to use online platforms to stalk their victims”.
“If they have concerns, feel unsafe or want to flag risks, it is absolutely vital that these apps take these reports very seriously and block these perpetrators from continuing to use their platforms,” he said.
“A lot more needs to be done about sharing information across all these different platforms so that the perpetrators can be better identified. As we know, many of them will create fake accounts, multiple identities, and different accounts to do this.”
“We know the technology is available to better identify these perpetrators.”
Simon Newman says industry is working to improve safety [The Online Dating and Discovery Association]
The Association for Online Dating and Discovery is the official trade organization representing some of the most well-known dating apps on the market.
Chief executive Simon Newman said there were “numerous examples of behavior that we consider inappropriate” on the internet generally and dating was “no exception to this”.
“There are some things the apps will be doing already, so they will be sharing information among themselves in terms of criminals and others who have been proven to engage in harmful behavior,” he said.
“We are also speaking to the government about extending Clare’s Law, giving people the right to ask questions and the right to be informed about someone’s potential risk to them. We think this should also be extended to users on dating apps.”
“We (also) call for things like pre- and post-bail charge conditions being implemented. So this means that if you are arrested or charged with an offense such as violence, harassment, or even fraud, then a condition should be placed on your license that effectively bans you from accessing dating apps.”
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