Center for rape victims raise the alarm about Tinder, online dating

Online datingNorway.Use of cell phones and new mobile habits Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix

Both the police and several centers for rape victims say they notice an increase in the number of women subjected to abuse after having met someone through online dating or apps like Tinder.

We noticed a significant increase last year   in the category which includes rape, for people who have made initial contact on Tinder or other dating sites,  police superintendent Kari-Janne Lid in the Oslo police section for violent and sexual crimes said to VG. In 2014 29 per cent of all reported rapes in Oslo were in this category. Last year the figure increased to 40 percent.
Ann Helen Lomsdalen, head of the sexual assault center in Fredrikstad, recently went public in the newspaper Fredriksstad Blad and warned of naive use of the datingapp Tinder.
– We are seeing more cases of rape in connection with Tinder-dates. We think this is a frightening trend. A lot has happened during the eight years I have chaired the reception,  Lomsdalen says to the newspaper VG. Three out of nine cases at the center so far this year are in connection with people who have met through Tinder.
– That in itself is perhaps not a huge number, but we can clearly see a pattern forming, she says. The newspaper has been in contact with several other centers who a hove noticed the same trend.
Tinder spokeswoman Rosette Pambakian said the company takes user security seriously and has strict rules, but they are not immune to incidents.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today