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Rape (In Mobile GAME) In Metaverse – What Law Says

Rape (In Mobile GAME) In Metaverse - What Law Says

It is one incident that happened that we can never imagine and the incident is virtual rape or we can say that the rape has happened on the online game/Facebook. Metaverse means virtual universe by which we can take our avatar pics. You must have seen that we can play games on Facebook or any other gaming app and take our pics on it. Those pics are called Avatar. Virtual reality allows users to enter the metaverse, closing the perceived gaps between digital and physical realities.

Virtual versions of people, objects, and landscapes will allow us to explore brand-new environments. Anyway, the concept of Metaverse is totally different because we have our virtual reality on Metaverse. Virtual means not going Metaverse physically but we can go there by our mind and our thinking.

You can create your spaces on Metaverse like a real world. Like in Pandemic peoples were not able to go anywhere and they were not able to attend family functions physically. But by Metaverse virtually they can see the album of that function by converting it into digital form. Let me tell you Metaverse in simple language whatever things we can see digitally and can share it with anything digital network. This is the concept of the Metaverse.

Women recall ‘gang rape’ in Metaverse. A 43-year-old woman has alleged that she was verbally and commit rape on her and harassed in Facebook’s metaverse, Horizon Venues. She said that within 60 seconds of her joining the virtual world, three or four male avatars “virtually gang raped” her avatar took photos of the same.

You should understand here that no one touches her physically but these male Avatars exploited her mentally and psychologically. So what should she do now? You must have seen on social accounts many times that someone sends nude pics to girls…etc. So there was a psychological impact on that 43 years old woman.

What is Metaverse?

It is a combination of multiple elements of technology, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and video where users “live” within a digital universe. Supporters of the metaverse envision it as users working, playing, and staying connected with friends through everything from concerts and conferences to virtual trips around the world.

The word Metaverse was first used in Nepal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopic, cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. It is a portmanteau of the words meta and universe. Virtual reality is as much a blessing as a curse to humanity. Virtual developers are trying to connect to every aspect of human interaction, marketing, education, virtual reality is migrating into everything.

• Some people see a metaverse that overlaps with the physical world and includes AR overlays. Investors are already splashing out on plots of virtual land.

• Barbados has indicated it wants an embassy in the metaverse, underscoring the cachet the concept has generated.

Facebook and Motoroverse

” The ” metaverse ” is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you, ” says social media giant Facebook which recently rebranded itself as Meta and in a way started the buzz around metaverse.

This digital space is gradually becoming ” a new reality ” for the present generation of kids.

Concern Raised

The young generation is quick in grasping new things, and technology attracts them the most. While many see it as a better alternative to the physical world, many others, psychologists, especially see it as a trouble.

Back to the Gang Rape Issue

Desiring the incident in a blog post, Nina Jane Patel said, ” Within 60 seconds of joining – I was verbally and xxxually harassed/raped – 34 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually commit gang-rape my avatar and took photos as I tried to get away they yelled ‘ don’t pretend you didn’t love it ‘ and ‘ go rub yourself off to the photo “.

• ” It was surreal . It was a nightmare, ” she added. She took her virtual reality headset off and signed out of the virtual world immediately, she told The Mail. ‘

The realness of Metaverse rape

In her blog post she went on to say that ” virtual reality has essentially been designed so the mind and body can’t differentiate virtual experiences from real ” and, hence, there’s a ‘ realness ‘ to experiences in the virtual world.

” In some capacity, my physiological and psychological response was as though it happened in reality, ” she wrote.

Meta Responds

In response, a Meta [ Facebook ] spokesperson quoted by Business Insider stated, ” We’re sorry to hear this happened. We want everyone in Horizon Venues to have a positive experience, and easily find the safety tools that can help in a situation like this – and help us investigate and take action. “

Why are psychologists worried about the impact on the mental health of Metaverse rape?

Today’s social media platforms are already dangerous for some kids and teens. Virtual reality’s level of immersion could make those problems even worse.

In September 2021, a Wall Street Journal report cited studies of Facebook over the past three years and revealed how Instagram affects its young user base. The study said 32 % of teenage girls had revealed that Instagram made them feel worse about their body images. As per reports, over 40 % of Instagram users are below 22 years old.

• The virtual avatars on metaverses can be modified as per the likeness of the individual and psychologists say this is a serious concern and can give rise to body image concerns among teens.

• The psychologists say the idea of ​​having a virtual fictional identity can mess up with a person’s identity and there can be situations where a person may find it difficult to accept his or her real identity and individuality.

Conclusion

There is a law available for the victim of physical rape, like punishment for rape is available under Section 376 of IPC. But there is no punishment for virtual rape in India. And no law is available for virtual rape.

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