Woman Attacked On Tinder Date, Sparks Police Warnings

Horrific news has come to light that a woman visiting Australia for work, from her native New Zealand, was viciously attacked on Saturday night by a group of men, one of whom she met on Tinder.

The 28-year-old met up with the as yet unidentified guy at a restaurant in Kings Cross, after which they migrated to a bar in Martin Place and were there joined by his friends.

Sydney Sex Crimes Squad Detective Inspector Michael Haddow said that, “Later on that night, the woman began to feel dizzy and numb, and lost her bearings.” Upon waking she found herself at an unfamiliar place, believed to be somewhere in the Botany area, and it was there that the aggravated sexual assault by a number of the men took place. 

“The vast majority of people who use dating websites and apps do so for the right reasons, but there are a number of sexual predators out there who use modern technology to find potential victims. We regularly remind people, children and parents in particular, that the use of the internet by sexual predators is an issue they need to be well aware of. All those warnings we give to children are applicable to adults.

It’s absolutely vital that people using dating websites and apps remember that how a person portrays themselves on the internet can be very different from their real life persona.

With this in mind, we strongly advise people that if they decide to meet a person they have been introduced to via the internet, then ensure the meeting is in a public place and take a friend along with you. Having a friend there ensures that one of you can always keep an eye on your drink, and you have someone to turn to who can help you out should you feel threatened or uncomfortable.

If it’s not possible to bring a friend with you, then, at the very least, stay in regular contact with a family member or friend, keeping them abreast of how the night is going and where you may be heading to.”

This same warning has been reposted by many news outlets as a way to stay safe – with parallels being drawn with the case earlier this year of the supposed ‘Tinder Murderer’ – and a similar list can be found on the Tinder website under ‘Safety.‘

Crime prevention is an aspect of policing that is vitally important. Having said that, it can be frustrating to constantly read these ‘tips’ to STAY SAFE as if the fault in all of this lies with meeting people on the dreaded ‘~online~’ and the victim for not taking a friend, keeping an eye on their drink and keeping in constant radio contact with a friend or family member.

Most of us would have had experience with Tinder and, granted, can sometimes be a bit casual, mostly because the night is young, and so are we. But every time a person is raped, or gang raped, those reporting on it scramble to take an angle so as to make sense or contribute something further than just relaying horrific details of a crime, and it just would seem the angle is never ‘RAPISTS NEED TO STOP RAPING.’ Sure, that’s a given but certainly Tinder is really not to blame in this case. 

Popular opinion also needs to stop presuming that being a dude means you’re going to be violent and being a lady means you’re going to be a victim. The reality is that men are more likely than women to be victims of violence outside of their own homes, and yet if a dude was jumped by a group and beaten in the street rarely would we see every news outlet reposting ‘tips on how to stay safe when you leave your house’.

It has been found time and time again that rape is a premeditated act of violence and anger, not passion or sex. It is an attempt to hurt and humiliate, gain power and control, using sex as the weapon. It is rooted in sadism and, in cases perpetrated against women, misogyny.

Our thoughts are with the victim. We can only hope reactions or any reactionary legislation is directed in the right place.