Last year, 208 rapes were registered for investigation in Oslo. Several of these occurred after the use of dating-apps and internet dating sites.
’13 of the cases occurred after the initial contact had been made on ‘Tinder’ or other online dating sites’, said Kari-Janne Lid, the police superintendent in the department for violent and sex crimes of Oslo police to the VG newspaper.
Lid fears it could be the big unknown in the area of sex crime, since many are too ashamed to report a rape after they voluntarily met someone through a dating site or using a dating app.
Eline Thorleifsson, senior doctor at the Abuse Center in Oslo, confirms the trend, but has no specific figures on it.
‘We see a growing tendency for women, and men, coming to us after having met someone via a dating app’, she said. She said it doesn’t only apply the very young, but also for people in their 30s and 40s.
Last week, a man from Eastern Norway was sentenced to seven years in prison in Bergen District Court after being found guilty of the rape of two sisters. One of the sisters had had her first contact with the man via the dating app ‘Happn’.
Last year, several hospitals across the country reported that rape centers had experienced an increase of cases in which women reported that initial contact took place via a dating app.
VG has been unsuccessful in talking to a spokesperson for the apps ‘Tinder’ and ‘Happn’.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
