Warning: The following content contains information related to sexual assault that could be potentially triggering. We want to prioritize the emotional well-being of our audience, especially those who have experienced such trauma. Therefore, we encourage our audience to practice self-care and seek support if needed. If you or someone you know is struggling with the aftermath of sexual assault, there are resources available to provide assistance and support, such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or RAINN. Please proceed with caution and prioritize your emotional well-being while engaging with potentially triggering content.
Dating apps have a moral imperative and ethical responsibility to take all possible steps to combat sexual assault and predation. Identity verification is a necessary tool that all dating apps should adopt to ensure the safety of their users.
We estimate that the number of sexual assault cases where sex offenders found their victim through dating apps is 65,000 per year. We came to this number from Dr. Julie Valentine, a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and a researcher for sexual violence, who found that 14% of sexual assaults cases were facilitated through dating apps in a sample of about 2,000 cases in Utah (this percentage only considers sexual assaults that occurred on the first date, so the percentage is likely higher). We then multiplied 14% by the total number of sexual assault cases per year (464,000). Since only 31% of sexual assaults are reported to the police, the real number of cases is likely significantly higher.
Dr. Valentine also discovered that sexual assaults facilitated through dating apps were more violent, with one third of the victims being strangled and 71% having documented physical injuries. Victims were also less likely to fight back against the attacker. She says that “Violent sexual predators use dating apps as hunting grounds for vulnerable victims,” and this is largely true based on the evidence. Dating apps need to become aware of this reality and do everything they can to protect their users.
Another study by Columbia University found that 31% of the 1,200 women surveyed who had used dating apps in the past 15 years reported being sexually assaulted or raped (differences between sexual assault vs. rape explained) by someone they met through an online dating site. Respondents volunteered to respond, so Columbia doesn’t claim that the results are representative, which is an important consideration to make when evaluating this data. However, it’s still an alarming and unacceptable percentage.
The number of reported sexual assault cases is also increasing, with the number of reported rapes increasing by 60% from 2012 to 2021, from 27.1 cases per 100k people to 43.5. This is a gut-wrenching statistic, and we as a society must raise awareness on sexual assault, support survivors, and hold perpetrators accountbale for their actions. This responsibility doesn’t just fall on survivors, but everyone, especially dating apps.
Understandably, many dating app users feel unsafe, with 18% of people reporting feeling unsafe when meeting someone they met online for the first time and 54% being afraid of being stalked in real life. One would expect trend-setters in the dating app space to actively tackle this problem head on, but as we see from the data below, it’s questionable if that is the case.
A spokesperson for Match Group, the largest dating app company that owns Tinder, Hinge, and 40 more platforms, admitted that there are registered sex offenders on their free products because they do not collect enough information from their users. This egregious disregard for users’ safety explains why 10% of sexual assault cases involving dating apps were matched with people previously accused or convicted of sexual assault.
While this is horrifying, it opens up opportunities for smaller dating apps to steal customers from Match Group and other large players by prioritizing users’ safety and requiring user verification. Doing so will attract new customers who have never used dating apps before. 37% of people said they don’t use dating apps because they don’t feel safe. Dating apps that embrace and take responsibility for their moral and ethical obligation to protect the safety of their users will reap the rewards of maintaining a loyal user base and attracting many new users.