Quebec women can no longer stand the violence they witness via dating apps. According to them, the efforts of the tech giants are not enough to curb the problem.
Margot Chénier created the Instagram account A dynamic guy in order to expose hateful, discriminatory or misogynistic comments found on applications like Tinder and Bumble.
“Tinder just sends me fat LGBT people. […] In 6 years on Tinder, not a single beautiful girl has liked me. Fake if you’re not fat and you don’t have purple hair, swipe right,” wrote a 39-year-old man on his profile description.
Screenshot of a dynamic guy’s Instagram page
“What do you do to a girl who steals your cigarettes?” Beat you. (tobacco),” another user wrote in a tasteless joke he sent to a woman.
Screenshot of a dynamic guy’s Instagram page
The issue of violence on dating apps will be addressed on the show Itonight at 9:30 p.m. on TVA.
Some of the comments made by the men are so shocking that Instagram has removed several posts from the page created by Margot.
“I sent them a message to explain that it was a denunciation of the content, that it was not my own words, Instagram never came back to me on this,” says the young woman.
Screenshot of a dynamic guy’s Instagram page
The account is still active, but Margot no longer adds new content to it.
Assault
Anne-Marie Dupras, comedian and lecturer, launched the Facebook page My life in love with shit, about 10 years ago, among other things to denounce this violence. She notices that users of dating applications have difficulty accepting rejection, even if it is virtual.
“When you go on a date, what does it work, once in five, but on the internet, you should always say yes. There are guys who get really angry, ”she laments.
Screenshot of a dynamic guy’s Instagram page
A young woman whose identity we are protecting says she was the victim of a sexual assault that took place following a meeting via the Bumble application.
“Once at my house, he wanted to do a sexual act that I didn’t want to do. […] Over time, he would try himself again. At some point, you’re so tired of repeating no, there’s so much insistence. He did not respect my consent. […] I just waited for the moment to pass. »
More protection
Jessica Pidoux, a researcher at the Center for European Studies at Sciences Po, believes that the companies behind dating apps should adopt moderation best practices or even impose more verifications during registration.
“The problem is that the creation of applications today passes as technological innovation”, she says, wishing that companies take more account of the dynamics in the construction of romantic relationships.
A Bumble spokesperson mentions via email that it is possible to block or report anyone who violates the guidelines and that reports are reviewed by the team. The company has also set up a Safety and well‐being center with advice in particular.
THREE QUARTERS OF USERS VICTIMS
A study by the Australian Institute of Criminology, published this fall, reveals that nearly three-quarters of dating app users have experienced at least one form of online violence in the past five years.
- 69% of respondents have experienced some form of sexual harassment
- 41% received an unsolicited intimate photo
- 45% have received abusive and threatening remarks
IN THE CRIMINAL CODE
In 2014, section 372 of the Criminal Code on indecent communications and harassment was amended to take telecommunications into account.
372-2 (Indecent communications)
“This offense targets the mode of conversation which is intended to be virtual and which will be done in order to alarm or annoy someone”, explains Me Amélie Rivard, of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) .
372-3 (Harassing communications)
“These are communications that will be repeated. This repetitive nature is really the basis of the offense and there must still be the specific intention to harass the person who will receive them, ”says Me Rivard.
These two offenses can be punished by a maximum of 2 years’ imprisonment.