The reminder comes during Sexual Assault Awareness Month amid many people experiencing assault linked to dating apps.
While many online daters have a positive experience, police are receiving more reports of people being sexually assaulted after meeting in person, including rape, sexual or inappropriate touching and sexual harassment.
“Something we commonly see with victims is a sense of obligation – a feeling that they ‘owe’ the offender something because this person has spent time messaging them, or travelled to see them, or bought them a meal or drink,“ Sexual Crimes Squad Detective Inspector Mark Burnett said.
“I really want to be absolutely clear that you do not owe anyone anything, ever.”
Police said some instances involved people engaging in consensual sex or sexual activity before withdrawing consent and one party violently or aggressively continuing an activity without the other’s consent.
Victoria Police wants to make it clear that any form of sexual offending is unacceptable, and consent can be given or withdrawn at any time, for any reason, advising there must be expressed consent every time sexual activity is engaged in.
If consent is only assumed, it may be considered an offence.
By law, people 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 applies regardless of whether a person has consented to the same or different act with the same or different person in the past.
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 agree to a sexual act for there to be consent.
Police warn that reporting an incident to a dating app is not the same as reporting it to police, as apps are not investigators; police are the only ones able to conduct a criminal investigation and hold perpetrators to account.
“I cannot stress enough that it is never the victim’s responsibility to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to investigate a sexual offence or solve a crime,” Det Insp Burnett said.
“It’s important that the community understands there are no barriers in reporting these matters to police.”
Police can request information from dating apps to assist in solving sexual offence investigations and can also conduct a criminal investigation where one party has blocked or deleted someone from the app.
Detectives from the Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Teams and Sexual Crimes Squad have been working to investigate reports of the crime and support victims.
These detectives are trained to understand the complexities of sexual offences and support victims from disclosure, through to the investigation process and court proceedings.
SOCIT and the Sexual Crimes Squad know it’s difficult to report sexual offences to police and want people to know it is never too late to make a report if you or someone you know has been a victim of such.
“The message we want to get out there to victims is: when you’re ready, speak to us, speak to someone, reach out,” Melbourne Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team Detective Senior Sergeant Monique Kelley said.
If someone decides they do not want to make a formal report or for an investigation to be conducted, police can still assist them with seeking further support such as medical services or counselling.
∎ Support and advice are also 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 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.
∎ For more information on safe online dating, visit crimestoppersvic.com.au/current-focus/onlinedating
∎ For more information on what Victoria Police is doing to protect victims of sexual offences, visit police.vic.gov.au/sexual-offences
SAFETY TIPS
- Consider your safety plan when meeting a stranger for the first time for any reason — this could include choosing a location with lots of people around, meeting during daylight hours and sharing your location with friends.
- Always view an app’s community guidelines, terms of service and safety tips prior to using their service to ensure that you are comfortable with how they will support you if you encounter an issue.
- While a dating app user can take steps to minimise their risk, the responsibility is always on the perpetrator who commits these crimes, and never the fault of the victims.
19°C