Sexual Harassment in the Metaverse: What is This New Form of Cyber Violence?

What is the Metaverse?

Contrary to what many people associate with Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious vision, the metaverse is not a concept invented by Meta (formerly Facebook). The metaverse is a virtual reality space where people can transfer part of their physical world activities, such as work, concerts, or social gatherings. Wearing virtual reality goggles, users feel as if they are in a virtual space where they can freely move, create, and meet other users (although the metaverse is also discussed in the context of other immersive technologies, that is not the focus here).

The concept and term ‘metaverse’ originated in Neal Stephenson’s 1991 science fiction novel Snow Crash. Virtual worlds are not necessarily a vision of the future; metaverses exist today and are used by millions of users worldwide (though they are still in their early stages of development). Various applications (e.g., VRChat, Spatial) embody the idea of the metaverse, independent of Meta and Facebook. Metaverses are not video games. While they consist of virtual worlds, they do not have a set goal or storyline; they are rather a new space for everyday life where users decide how they want to spend their time (although, indeed, they can also play games in the metaverse).

Sexual Harassment in the Metaverse

In the metaverse, sexual harassment takes on a new dimension due to the immersive and interactive nature of these virtual spaces. Users represented by avatars can experience unwanted advances, inappropriate comments, or even virtual physical aggression. The impact of such harassment can be profound, as the immersive experience can make these incidents feel very real and disturbing. This form of cyber violence raises significant concerns about the safety and well-being of users in virtual environments.

The challenge in addressing sexual harassment in the metaverse lies in the intersection of technology, law, and ethics. There are questions about how to effectively moderate behavior in a virtual world, the legal implications of virtual actions, and the ethical responsibilities of platform creators and users. As the metaverse continues to evolve, it is crucial for ongoing discussions and actions to address these challenges to ensure a safe and respectful virtual environment for all.

Sexual Harassment in the Metaverse

On December 21, 2021, researcher Nina Jane Patel published an article titled Reality or Fiction? in the Medium magazine, where she described her traumatic experiences of harassment in Meta’s metaverse. Unfortunately, this was not the first incident of its kind, but it was the first to draw significant public attention to the issue. The event was reported globally in various tones, ranging from concern to sensationalism and skepticism.

News of more dramatic incidents in virtual reality periodically resurfaces in the media. This text is written in the context of another wave of reports about the initiation of the first-ever police investigation in the United Kingdom related to a sexual assault in the metaverse. My aim is not to analyze any of these cases but to explain what this new form of cyber violence is and to answer common questions: Is harassment in virtual reality possible and is it real?

Is Harassment in the Metaverse Real?

Contemporary philosophers debate whether virtual worlds are less real than our physical world because they are made of bits instead of atoms. However, one thing is certain: our experiences in virtual reality are real because we are real. My terror while walking through a virtual house of horrors is as real as when I walk through its physical counterpart. My heartbeat can rise just the same in both situations! Similarly, my friendship with someone I meet in the metaverse can be as genuine as that with friends from college, even though our relationship may look entirely different. However, if someone addresses me in the metaverse in a disgusting and vulgar manner, it is real harassment that affects the real me.

It is important to remember that there are many forms of sexual harassment, which beyond the verbal aspect can take other forms, such as sharing sexual content (for example, photos of a person) or direct unwanted physical contact (for instance, touching someone without consent). It is this latter type of harassment in the metaverse that has sparked the most controversy in the media. How is it possible for someone to be physically harassed in virtual reality when their body in the physical world is hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away from the assailant’s body?

We recommend: The Neurobiology of Passion: How the Brain Copes With the Power of Love

Why Physical Harassment is Possible in the Metaverse

When I put on virtual reality goggles, launch a metaverse application, and look down, I see my virtual body, located in the same place as my physical body. In virtual worlds, our virtual bodies are usually referred to as avatars. In VR (virtual reality) technology, however, an avatar is more than a character in a classic video game (hence the increasing reference to ‘virtual bodies’ in scientific publications). In the context of VR, an avatar is not a character we observe on a screen and control with a keyboard or a controller. It is more like a character whose ‘virtual skin we enter and become’. What does this exactly mean?

Systems mounted in VR goggles or in additional devices synchronize the movements of the virtual body with those made by my physical body in real time. For example, when I move my physical arm, my virtual arm moves in exactly the same way. Since I am wearing goggles, I do not see the movements of my physical arm but only observe the movements of my virtual arm. This situation can lead to a phenomenon known as virtual embodiment, where metaverse users start to feel that their virtual body is their own body, over which they have control.

This phenomenon results from the coherence between vision, movement, and proprioception (when I move my body, I see that my virtual body moves accordingly, and I also feel where my virtual hand is, even when I am not looking at it, because it is in the same place in space as my physical hand). The virtual body is then likely temporarily incorporated into the user’s mental body representations, something like maps of our body that exist in the brain.

However, it is important to remember that virtual embodiment is still a poorly understood phenomenon, not experienced by everyone. Its occurrence and intensity can depend on many factors, such as the VR devices used, the user’s perspective towards their virtual body, the accuracy and range of synchronization of physical and virtual body movements, the appearance of the virtual body, and individual user characteristics.

In some situations, when someone touches our virtual body, we can feel a physical touch. This can happen in two circumstances. Firstly, when we use haptic systems, which can be gloves or even a full suit. Then, when we touch something (or something touches us) in virtual reality, vibrations are activated in the same place on our physical body, simulating touch. This creates coherence between what we see (touching something with a hand) and what we feel (feeling a vibration on the body), which can also enhance the sense of ownership of virtual embodiment. This can be exploited by an assailant in the metaverse, who, by touching the victim’s virtual body in an unwanted manner, can activate vibrations on her physical body, which can be a traumatic experience. Haptic systems are still niche technology (aside from vibrating controllers held in the hands).

The second possibility of experiencing touch in virtual reality is so-called phantom sensations. This astonishing phenomenon, whose mechanism is still not unequivocally explained, is when, sometimes, if someone touches our virtual body in the metaverse, we may feel a touch (usually resembling tingling) on our physical body (despite the lack of any physical stimulus). This phenomenon shows that, probably, coherent visual and proprioceptive information can, in certain cases, induce phantom sensations of touch on the user’s body (touch ‘subordinates’ itself to information from other senses in these situations). However, it is important to remember that this phenomenon is still poorly understood, dependent on many factors, and its full understanding requires further research.

Phantom bodily sensations can sometimes be perceived by users as something positive, for example, a common behavior among users of one metaverse (VRChat) is friendly patting on the virtual head. However, sometimes phantom sensations can also be perceived negatively. Firstly, this unusual phenomenon can be disturbing in itself for users. Secondly, unwanted behaviors of other users, such as touching someone’s virtual body without consent, especially in intimate areas, can be a traumatic experience, especially when accompanied by phantom sensations of touch on the physical body of the victim.

We recommend: Will Sex Robots Alter Our Perception of Sexuality and Human Relationships?

More Than Touch

Even without haptic systems or phantom bodily sensations, other aggressive behaviors by users in the metaverse can be a traumatic experience, often much more intense than observing them on a computer screen. This is due to the specificity of VR technology, which provides users with a high sense of realism and the impression of being in a virtual environment. Users are not external observers but become active participants in events, often experiencing them similarly to the physical world. Merely getting too close to a stranger in the metaverse and invading our personal space can be a negative experience for some, causing feelings similar to those in physical reality.

To protect users, some metaverses have introduced a ‘personal bubble’ feature, which prevents other users from getting too close to our virtual body. However, this is only a partial solution to the problem, as activating this feature in a sudden and stressful situation can be challenging. Moreover, this solution is criticized by some for not penalizing aggressors but shifting the responsibility for ‘activating the protective bubble’ onto the victim. Additionally, it should be noted that a person wearing VR goggles has limited control over what happens in their physical environment, which can also be exploited by a potential assailant in the physical space. Unfortunately, such situations have also occurred.

Summary

VR technology, like any other medium, opens up new possibilities that can be used both positively and negatively. It is extremely important to remain vigilant and sensitive to new forms of cyber violence, which should not be trivialized. Particularly great challenges now lie before the field of law, which must adapt to the rapidly changing reality to prevent impunity for cyber violence in virtual reality. This article is merely a popular scientific introduction to this difficult and complex problem.

Interested readers are recommended to read the indicated scientific publications below.

Translation: Klaudia Tarasiewicz