Safety for LGB Australians on Dating Apps

Recently, LGB Alliance Australia wrote to the Minister for Communications and the Minister for Social Services congratulating the Australian Government on convening the first National Roundtable on Online Dating Safety.

The roundtable responds to recent research by the Australian Institute of Criminology, which found that sexual harassment and abuse were common on dating apps and that 'LGB+' Australians were at especially high risk.

However, we raised questions as to whether the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual Australians would be addressed appropriately by the roundtable.

In particular, we drew attention to an issue that often goes unaddressed: the  sexual harassment of lesbian, gay and bisexual Australians on dating apps by perpetrators of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, it is our observation that mainstream LGBTIQ+ organisations and dating apps themselves have failed to address this issue. 

You can read our initial statement on dating app safety here.