Irish NGO Says Dating Apps Must Work Harder to Protect Women

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) has called upon dating apps to take responsibility for the sexual harassment that takes place on their platforms.

It explained that women should be able to freely use online dating platforms without worrying about their safety or taking extra precautionary measures when meeting men for the first time.

The request came after Patrick Nevin was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday for attacking and raping three women he’d connected with on Tinder in 2014.

Dublin Senator Catherine Noone echoed the point, and said that all sex offenders should be banned from all online dating services for life. She told the Irish Times: “People should always take precautions on dating apps but they should also expect some level of security vetting when using these apps. 

“By introducing measures that will ban individuals convicted of a sexual crime, we can begin to provide this level of security.”

Data from approximately half of the police forces in the UK revealed that the number of crimes related to online dating almost doubled between 2015 and 2018. 

A survey into sexual violence in Ireland is scheduled to be published in 2024. NWCI director Ora O’Connor has asked that the final report disclose how many of these crimes were related to dating apps.

A man who experienced harassment after his ex-boyfriend created a fake dating profile of him recently lost his product liability case against Grindr. The court ruled that the dating app is not to be held accountable for user-generated content.

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