Today women are not safe even in a virtual world let alone in reality. Recently, a 16-year-old UK teenage girl was allegedly gang raped in a virtual reality game. According to the New York Post, the teen was wearing a virtual reality headset (VR) in an immersive game when she was allegedly raped by a group of men. Though the girl did not suffer any physical injury but she is said to have been left distraught after her avatar–her digital character– was gang-raped by online strangers in the Metaverse.
It is a trite fact that these online games which have “immersive virtual reality” element creates an artificial environment that replaces users’ “real-world” surroundings convincingly enough that they are able to suspend disbelief and fully engage with the created environment. It is still unclear which game the teen was engaged in but this incident has left an indelible mark on her emotional and psychological well-being while broadening the ambit of virtual sexual offences.
Drawing the Parallels between Real and Virtual World
Although it is easy to dismiss this incident as being not real, but the whole point of these virtual environments is the fact that they are incredibly immersive and therefore the crucial balance between real and virtual world is required. In real world, rape involves physical penetration as a sine qua non which violates a person’s bodily autonomy, causing severe physical, emotional and psychological trauma. The Metaverse, on the other hand, primarily encompasses virtual interactions and simulations that lack the tangible consequences inherent in physical violations. Addressing the comparison between rape in the Metaverse, where digital characters are involved, and real-world sexual assault requires a nuanced examination of the distinct nature of these experiences. In the Metaverse, interactions involve virtual representations, lacking physical bodies or tangible consequences. While violations may occur within the digital realm, the absence of real-world implications differentiates it from the profound and lasting impact of physical sexual assault. However, we cannot afford to ignore online experiences which can still inflict emotional distress and harm on individuals which eventually affects one’s mental and psychological well-being.
Along the same lines, looking at the perpetrators’ state of mind, it is important to recognize that an individual willing to subject a child to digital trauma of this degree, might be indicative of someone capable of committing serious harm in the physical world as well. Therefore, in the garb of the argument that the police and prosecutors are currently struggling with an enormous backlog of actual rape cases, we cannot look away from the “sexual trauma” which the child has gone through.
The Statutory Void and Allied Challenges
Irrespective of the nature of crime, drawing parallels between the real world offences and virtual offences, necessitates considering the ethical implications of virtual actions and the responsibility of platform providers to ensure a safe digital environment. This challenge further bolsters the tussle of liability and safe harbour protection of the intermediaries.
Until today, in the UK, where the case of the teen is being investigated, there have been no prosecutions for sexual offences in the virtual world. As far as the current laws and regulations are concerned, they are unlikely to cover ‘rape in the Metaverse’, as sexual assault, as the definition in the Sexual Offences Act is provided as ‘the physical touching of another person sexually without their consent’. Among the other things and in the absence a regulation which expressly deals with digital rape as a crime, striking a balance between acknowledging the potential harm within the Metaverse, recognizing the severity of real-world crimes and ensuring the liability of the intermediaries, are key essential elements which are required in fostering a comprehensive understanding of these complex issues. Ultimately, while both involve violations, the distinctions in their nature and consequences emphasize the need for tailored discussions and preventative measures in each context.