A girl was allegedly raped in the metaverse. Is this the beginning of a dark new future?

[limbicnuminousity]

74. Sacrificing an element of privacy?

Mineral Man makes a good point in his post stating that "a different word is needed."

If you mean "how do you define a 'virtual rape'," I'd suggest it comes down to consent. The young woman in this story said "please stop." The people harassing her continued to sexualize and demean her. No means no even in the virtual realm.

If you mean "how do we catch the culprits," game servers maintain chat logs and can track IPs. Video and audio recording options are available. That places a burden of proof on the victim or the victim's family, but I don't see a way around it.

I think parts of society operate under an assumption of implied consent. Some men (and some women) believe that sexual advances or the sexualization of non-sexual situations is acceptable until or unless consent is denied. Trump's infamous "grab 'em by the ..." comment is an example of that mindset expressed in the physical world.

That is the issue. When you allow people to behave this way in games or in public you run the risk of producing the next Trump.