Swipe Them Out: Calls to overhaul dating apps grow as more victims speak up

Another woman has spoken out about her terrifying experience with a man she met on a dating app, as governments and tech giants work to stamp out the violence.

Another victim has spoken out for The Daily Telegraph’s Swipe Them Out campaign.

A Sydney woman who was bashed, stalked, and abused for months after meeting a man on a dating app is calling for more to be done to prevent him from accessing his next victim on the platform.

The woman, who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution, said she experienced both psychological and physical abuse at the hands of the man she met on Tinder and who she believed could still be lurking on the platform.

Following the launch of The Daily Telegraph’s Swipe Them Out Campaign, the young woman is calling for the dating apps to be held to account for the people they have on their platforms.

“I was single for a year and I thought ‘why not try the dating app’ – a lot of my friends were encouraging me so I thought I’d give it a try. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would go through what I went through,” she said of her experience about two years ago.

The then 26-year-old said when the pair met, there were no signs on his profile that indicated the abuse that was to follow.

“If there is a way for the dating apps to ask for a review and they can flag the person on their system.” Picture: Monique Harmer

“There was a bit where I was off work and he didn’t want me to go back to work so I was there in front of him all the time. That became a huge red flag. Then he didn’t want me to study because some of the lecturers were male and he didn’t want me to interact with men,” she said.

The woman said the abuse escalated to physical violence before she attempted to repeatedly seek help from the police and eventually escaped.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, is calling on the tech giants to do more to protect others. Picture: Daily Telegraph / Monique Harmer

“I’d be driving, and he would hit my head against the steering wheel. He would slap me, pull my hair, push me to the wall. I would have bruises on my body. I felt a lot of shame for putting myself in that situation,” she said.

She wants the platforms to ban users with apprehended violence orders and criminal records but also called for greater support for survivors who are unable to get help from the police or court system.

She also called for apps to improve their reporting mechanisms by flagging anyone with multiple negative “reviews”.

“If there is a way for the dating apps to ask for a review and they can flag the person on their system,” she said.

“The apps would be the only way he’d meet women. He didn’t have many friends and with the sort of lifestyle he had, he told me that is how he would find women to date or be with.”

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DATING APP EXECS WILLING TO WORK ON SAFETY

A national summit being held to stamp out violent criminals from dating apps will likely be held in Sydney as tech giant Match Group – which operates Hinge and Tinder – said it was willing to work with the government and peak bodies on the issue.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that invitations to the event will be sent out by Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland shortly and the event is likely to be held in her Commonwealth Parliamentary office in Sydney in January.

Tinder has previously worked with the Queensland and South Australian governments on state-based awareness campaigns to warn users about sexual assaults and criminals on dating apps.

The company running popular dating apps Hinge and Tinder has said it’s willing to work with the government to better protect users from sexual violence.

“Any type of dating violence or abuse has no place on our platform or anywhere. We believe everyone has the right to date freely and safely and it’s the reason we are committed to helping make dating safer around the world, while supporting all survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence,” a Match Group spokesman said.

“We will continue to work with experts from leading gender-based violence and sexual assault organisations to help train our customer service teams so they can handle any serious report with a survivor-centric approach.”

In partnership with the Queensland Police Service, Match Group previously created an in-app messaging awareness campaign to help combat sexual assault.

In NSW marketing experts have flagged that a similar ad campaign, rolled out on the apps as well as youth-focused platforms like TikTok, Netflix and YouTube, could be effective in raising awareness about the risks of dating apps.