The Australian ABC TV 4 Corners program on Monday 12th October 2020 highlighted the alleged callousness of the online dating site “Tinder”, and the risks of online dating.
The program reported that “Tinder” is part of the online dating empire of “Match Group” of the USA, a company with a with a turnover of $1.7 billion and a huge global advertising and market presence.
According to ABC TV, the key issue with Tinder is the security of the people who signed up, highlighted by the unfortunate experiences of three young single women.
Radio Triple J had sought feedback from young women of their experiences with Tinder. The radio broadcaster received 400 responses, of which 175 reported serious issues, with several claiming they had been sexually assaulted, or had been subjected to very rough or violent sex.
The ABC 4 Corners television program claimed a number of serial sexual offenders comprised part of the Tinder membership.
According to the ABC report, Tinder members are not required to provide physical evidence or verification of their identity or photos provided. All members need is a phone number, an email address and some unverified photos.
The site charges fees, depending on the level of visibility required by the member.
Comment from Australian police quoted a large increase in the number of cases of sexual exploitation or assaults received since these dating Apps were launched. Police explain such cases may represent “the tip of the iceberg and are very hard to prove against perpetrators, resulting in no action being taken.
According to the ABC 4 Corners report, the three young ladies were raped or assaulted by the men they had met on line. They reported the incidents to Tinder who claimed action would be taken, however nothing further was heard.
After their meetings, the perpetrators used the “Unmatched” function on the site so that all the interaction emails, messages and photos were deleted.
This ability of offenders to delete tracking information from the site means it is very hard to prove to police that a relationship or grooming had occurred. Yet the offender could then seek out new prey by remaining on “Tinder”.
One Australian perpetrator was caught by police after a long-term investigation. This man was charged with three counts of rape and four assaults, resulting in a 14 years’ jail sentence. This perpetrator was a serial rapist who had started to use multiple identities to keep attracting more prey and avoid detection; yet was still on the Tinder web site when he was caught.
So where does Married Affairs Sydney come into the picture:
- We have face to face interviews with all potential members before accepting them as members. We also go through a person’s personal preferences, hobbies, work, interests and social needs to give them the best introduction matches.
- Our membership process requires three forms of identification for verification.
- We remove people from our membership if they are reported to our Sydney CBD office for misbehaviour.
- If any serious issues arise, we are able to report offenders to the police.
- Our personalised membership matches average above 75 percent compatibility, meaning there is a better connection for mutual outcomes and desires.
Be safe and date again, either casually, longer term or permanently through Married Affairs Sydney. Contact our CBD office manager Susan on (02) 9251 4948 or 0423 242 773.
It is all about the common passions, desires and emotions of our members.
