https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/woman-experienced-shocking-virtual-gang-26127924

A woman has said she was virtually 'gang raped' in the Metaverse and that new technologies made it feel like real life.

Nina Jane Patel, the vice president of research for a rival metaverse company, claims she was 'verbally and sexually harassed' and even 'virtually gang raped' by a group of men within 60 seconds of logging into 'Horizon Venues', a VR world owned by Meta (formerly Facebook)

Patel said: "3-4 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos—as I tried to get away they yelled—'don't pretend you didn't love it' and 'go rub yourself off to the photo'."

Horizon Worlds is Meta's biggest 'metaverse' app and lets you meet other people in virtual reality

Horizon Worlds is Meta's biggest 'metaverse' app and lets you meet other people in virtual reality (Image: Horizon Worlds Metaverse)

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She added that she was "not accustomed to be spoken to in such derogatory ways, maybe back in 1996, but certainly not in 2021."

Horizon Worlds allows you to meet friends and strangers in a virtual world, where you have a digital 'avatar' version of your body that moves as you do.

While this is what allows you to chat to people, play games, and be immersed in the experience, it also has a dark side, as Patel's experience shows.

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Horizon Worlds does have a feature called 'Safe Zone', which allows users to activate a protective bubble where nobody can interact with them, touch them or talk to them.

Unfortunately, Patel said that she 'froze', and that it "happened so fast and before I could even think about putting the safety barrier in place."

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Patel said that: "Virtual reality has essentially been designed so the mind and body can’t differentiate virtual/digital experiences from real.

A woman has said she was virtually 'gang raped' in the Metaverse and that new technologies made it feel like real life.

Nina Jane Patel, the vice president of research for a rival metaverse company, claims she was 'verbally and sexually harassed' and even 'virtually gang raped' by a group of men within 60 seconds of logging into 'Horizon Venues', a VR world owned by Meta (formerly Facebook)

Patel said: "3-4 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos—as I tried to get away they yelled—'don't pretend you didn't love it' and 'go rub yourself off to the photo'."

Horizon Worlds is Meta's biggest 'metaverse' app and lets you meet other people in virtual reality

Horizon Worlds is Meta's biggest 'metaverse' app and lets you meet other people in virtual reality (Image: Horizon Worlds Metaverse)

RELATED ARTICLES

The new technology, inspired by bees and other flying insects, means conventional motors and gears are no longer needed

Insect-sized micro robots with flapping wings could 'replace bees as they die out'dailystar

Hypersonic plane 'faster than Concorde' can get to New York from China in under an hourdailystar

She added that she was "not accustomed to be spoken to in such derogatory ways, maybe back in 1996, but certainly not in 2021."

Horizon Worlds allows you to meet friends and strangers in a virtual world, where you have a digital 'avatar' version of your body that moves as you do.

While this is what allows you to chat to people, play games, and be immersed in the experience, it also has a dark side, as Patel's experience shows.

Many women have reported intimidating sexual harassment and virtual groping in the metaverse

Many women have reported intimidating sexual harassment and virtual groping in the metaverse (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

READ MORE

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Horizon Worlds does have a feature called 'Safe Zone', which allows users to activate a protective bubble where nobody can interact with them, touch them or talk to them.

Unfortunately, Patel said that she 'froze', and that it "happened so fast and before I could even think about putting the safety barrier in place."

Sponsored

Warmful

Why Are Americans Switching To This Compact High-Tech Home Heater?

by Taboola

Virtual groping and harassment of women are problems in many online spaces, but the fact that the Metaverse is in VR adds a physicality to the issue which can make it feel more real.

Caption: Woman experienced shocking Metaverse 'gang rape' as soon as she logged into VR world

Mark Zuckerberg thinks the Metaverse is the next stage of the Internet (Image: Horizon Worlds Metaverse)

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Patel said that: "Virtual reality has essentially been designed so the mind and body can’t differentiate virtual/digital experiences from real.

"In some capacity, my physiological and psychological response was as though it happened in reality."

A spokesperson for Meta said: “Horizon Venues should be safe, and we are committed to building it that way.

"We will continue to make improvements as we learn more about how people interact in these spaces, especially when it comes to helping people report things easily and reliably.”

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Having a virtual body in the metaverse can make things feel a lot more real (Image: Horizon Worlds Metaverse)

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In December, another beta tester of Horizon Worlds claimed her avatar was groped by a stranger.

A spokesperson for Meta said: “Horizon Venues should be safe, and we are committed to building it that way.

"We will continue to make improvements as we learn more about how people interact in these spaces, especially when it comes to helping people report things easily and reliably.”

Having a virtual body in the metaverse can make things feel a lot more real

Having a virtual body in the metaverse can make things feel a lot more real (Image: Horizon Worlds Metaverse)

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In December, another beta tester of Horizon Worlds claimed her avatar was groped by a stranger.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5023511&forum_id=2#43903053)