Woman Gang Raped in Facebook’s Metaverse
A woman has shared a horrible experience claiming that her avatar in metaverse was virtually sexually assaulted and gang-raped by other users.
Horizon Worlds is an online game created by Facebook which is now named meta. Horizon World is a game where people have to wear virtual reality headsets, they can then make their avatars and meet and interact with other people’s avatars. Meta released Horizon Worlds to everyone 18 years and older in the United States and Canada on 9 Dec 2022. A 43-year-old woman named Nina Jane Patel played the game only once and had a terrible experience. Let me tell you about it. Nina wore the headset and created her avatar. However, in just 60 seconds, she was verbally and sexually harassed. 3-4 male avatars, with male voices, virtually gang-raped her avatar and took photos. The game has a ‘Safety Barrier’, it is an option that users can use so that no other avatar can come close to them or do anything to them. It basically protects a person’s avatar in the game. However, Nina said that “Everything happened so fast and before I could even think about putting the safety barrier in place. I froze. It was surreal. It was a nightmare. I removed the headset quickly to end the experience. But I can not forget it. I have suffered from anxiety since.”
Meta responded to the woman saying, "We're sorry to hear this happened. We want everyone in Horizon Venues to have a positive experience, and easily find the safety tools that can help in a situation like this. We will investigate this and take action." After Nina posted the experience many people told her not to choose a female avatar next time. Many even said that since it did not happen in reality she should not be bothered.
It is surprising that women are not safe even in a virtual world.
