Scale of sexual violence online ‘difficult to comprehend’, minister says ahead of Australian roundtable

The scale of sexual violence linked to online dating is "difficult to comprehend", the communications minister has said, with representatives of Tinder, Bumble and Grindr due to join a national roundtable in Sydney on Wednesday.

"People who cause harm in the digital world must be held accountable as they would for their actions offline," Michelle Rowland said.

"We want to know what industry is doing to prevent and address harm on their services, and what more is possible."

Rowland and the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, will convene the meeting in Sydney on Wednesday. Every state and territory will be represented by ministers responsible for domestic violence, women's safety and the digital economy.

Officials from Bumble, Grindr and Match, the parent company of Tinder and OK Cupid, will attend the meeting. Also present will be the federal domestic and sexual violence commissioner, Micaela Cronin; the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant; Teach Us Consent founder and activist Chanel Contos; and experts from health and safety organisations such as Full Stop, Anrows, Our Watch, Wesnet, Acon and the National Women's Safety Alliance.

Rowland pointed to an October report from the Australian Institute of Criminology, which found in the past five years three in four survey respondents had been victims of sexual violence perpetrated by someone they met through online dating - including sexual assault, coercion or image-based abuse.

The minister said the government was "concerned by unacceptable levels of abuse and harassment" online.

According to an advance copy of her remarks, Rowland will tell the roundtable: "It can be difficult to comprehend this scale of harm. Sexual violence is a devastatingly common experience."

Rowland noted that women are far more likely than men to experience online harm, while culturally and linguistically diverse, First Nations, LGBTQI+ people and those with a disability are even more at risk. She said those issues were part of "a wider landscape of harm in the offline world", pointing to national plans to end violence against women and children as a key component in addressing online harms.

Rishworth has raised the aim of preventing violence on dating apps before it occurs, including tracking "escalating behaviour", and education about respectful relationships.

"Everyone deserves to live a life free of violence no matter where they are - and this includes online," she said.

"Dating app violence is gender-based violence. And like all forms of violence, we need to challenge and change the attitudes that lead to this violence occurring in the first place."

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, this week called for those with domestic violence convictions to be banned from using dating apps. The state government has proposed a trial of a program, Right to Ask, where people could ask police for details about whether a partner or date had assault, domestic violence or stalking convictions.

Perrottet said he wanted national cabinet to discuss the issue of dating app safety next month.

Tinder, one of the most popular dating apps in the country, this week released an Australian dating safety guide developed in conjunction with Wesnet, a national peak body for women's domestic and family violence services. It warns about scams, harassment and hate speech, sexual health, consent and drink spiking.

Tinder said a survey found a third of its users were not fully aware of online dating safety features, with the new guide including in-app safety resources and the 1800RESPECT phone line.

A Match spokesperson welcomed the roundtable, noting apps had responsibilities to protect users.

"We applaud the proactive work by the Australian government and appreciate the invitation to the roundtable," the company said.

"We recognise the role we have to help make dating safer around Australia and the globe, and we take this seriously."