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Woman alleges ‘gang rape’ in Metaverse, minutes after joining!

In the Metaverse, one woman has described a terrible experience in which her avatar was virtually abused and gang-raped by other users. Nina Jane Patel chronicled the entire event in a Medium post, alleging that it all unfolded within seconds of entering the virtual world.

She claims that within 60 seconds of joining, she was verbally and sexually harassed by 3-4 male avatars who, essentially, but virtually, gang-raped her avatar and took photos. The 43-year-old went on to describe how she witnessed her avatar being sexually raped by a group of male avatars, who took pictures of her and gave her messages like ‘don’t pretend you don’t love it’.

A person who logged on to Facebook’s version of the ‘metaverse,’ an online world where virtual avatars met and communicated, as well as toured an expanding network of virtual destinations such as cities, rural scenes, or cafes, would have been able to witness it first hand. ‘It was a horrible experience that happened so fast and before I even had a chance to put the safety barrier in place. I froze, It was surreal. It was a nightmare’, she described.

After the encounter was over, she ripped off her headphones to end it, and she has experienced anxiety ever since. Many people told Nina that next time she should pick a male avatar or not let the experience influence her because the encounter wasn’t genuine.

The London-based woman is a vice president of Metaverse Research for Kabuni Ventures, an immersive technology firm. After an invite-only beta test last year, Horizon Worlds became available to anyone 18 and older in the United States and Canada on Dec. 9. Meta has responded to Ms. Patel, stating that technical obstacles may be put in place to prevent this from occurring again.

‘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–and help us investigate and take action,’ a Meta spokesperson said. Kabuni Ventures, an immersive technology company, employs the woman as the vice president of Metaverse Research. After an invite-only beta test last year, Meta released Horizon Worlds to all 18 and older in the United States and Canada on December 9.

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