This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Victoria Police is imploring people to contact police if they experience any form of sexual offending linked to the use of dating apps.
Dating apps have become a common way for people to connect, and while many users have a positive experience, police have received an increase in reports of people being sexually assaulted after meeting in person.
In concerning trends identified by investigators, this can include rape, sexual or inappropriate touching and sexual harassment.
This may involve people engaging in what begins as consensual sex or sexual activity before consent is withdrawn for any reason, one party engages in an activity the other party has not consented to or when the other person becomes violent or aggressive.
Victoria Police wants to make it clear that any form of sexual offending is completely unacceptable, and consent can be given or withdrawn, at any time, for any reason.
There must be expressed consent every single time you engage in sexual activity. Consent can never be assumed, otherwise it may be considered an offence.
By law, you must follow the affirmative consent model before engaging in, and during, sexual activity.
Affirmative consent means that the people involved must actively ask that they have consent from each other. Their response can be in the form of saying “yes”, or nodding.
This includes situations where a person has consented to the same or different sexual act with the same or different person before.
In Victoria, all parties must freely agree to a sexual act for there to be consent.
While we encourage victims to report sexual offences as soon as possible, it doesn’t matter how much time has passed, we are always able to investigate the crime.
It’s crucial that the community understands that dating apps are not investigators – police are the only ones able to conduct a criminal investigation and hold perpetrators to account. Reporting to the dating app is not the same as reporting to police.
Police can request information from dating apps to assist in solving sexual offence investigations and can also conduct a criminal investigation even where one party has blocked or deleted someone from the app.
Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Teams (SOCIT) and Sexual Crimes Squad detectives have been working tirelessly to investigate reports of the crime, support victims and hold perpetrators to account.
These detectives are trained to understand the complexities of sexual offences and support victims from disclosure, through to the investigation process, and then on to court proceedings.
SOCIT and the Sexual Crimes Squad acknowledge the difficulties in reporting sexual offences to police and want victims to know it is never too late to make a report.
Melbourne Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team’s Detective Senior Sergeant Monique Kelley said they take any report of sexual offences extremely seriously.
“Our detectives are seeing far too many sexual offences occur via the use of dating apps – and it needs to stop. The crime will not be tolerated,” she said.
“Everyone has a right to go about their lives, meet new people and start a relationship in safety.
“That’s why we’re continuing to work tirelessly to investigate these crimes and hold perpetrators to account to ensure the safety of victims.
“The message we want to get out there to victims is: when you’re ready, speak to us, speak to someone, reach out.
“We want victims to know it is never too late to come forward and make a report. We are always able to investigate a sexual offence, regardless of when it occurred.”
Support and advice are available from Sexual Assault Crisis Line (1800 806 292) or the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Counselling Service at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
In an emergency call Triple Zero (000). If you can’t get to a phone, ask someone else to do it for you.
For more information about affirmative consent, visit respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/news/affirmative-consent or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/current-focus/onlinedating
