Almost all women experience abuse on dating platforms, new landmark Australian research finds
New research, funded by Minderoo Foundation and led by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), reveals tech-based abuse is widespread and persistent on dating platforms, with 99% of women surveyed having experienced at least one abusive behaviour in the past three months.
The landmark Australian study, Understanding Tech-Based Abuse of Women on Dating Platforms, found almost all of the 1,008 heterosexual women surveyed had experienced abuse and, on average, had experienced 19 of the 39 behaviours the survey asked about.
The study also developed a new measurement tool, the Gendered Abuse on Dating Apps (GADA) Scale, designed to capture the spectrum of harms women experience on dating platforms.
Researchers found that while overt abuse such as threats, catfishing and unsolicited sexual images remain common, women are even more likely to experience psychological and emotional harms including love bombing, gaslighting, negging, coercion and persistent boundary testing.
Psychological and emotional abuse was the most common category of harm, experienced by 95% of respondents. Despite being far more common, they were reported far less often. These behaviours may be harder to recognise or evidence, may not fit platform reporting categories, or are managed by disengaging rather than reporting - which means platform reporting data will always understate the problem.
Among the findings:
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89% experienced monitoring or surveillance behaviours
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88% experienced sexually abusive behaviours
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68% of women experienced love bombing, which involves excessive flattery or affection designed to manipulate
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56% experienced negging, including backhanded compliments and subtle insults
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53% experienced gaslighting
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One in seven women received unsolicited sexually explicit messages more than five times in a three-month period
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Over half the respondents experienced financially abusive behaviours
The research also found that women undertake extensive “safety work” to simply use the platforms by constantly screening profiles, filtering matches, managing personal information, monitoring interactions for warning signs and anticipating risk.
The role of platforms in preventing this harm is critical. The research points to platform design features, such as ‘last active’ indicators and unsolicited messaging, that can enable harm. Women are also frequently deterred from reporting abuse by confusing processes and automated, impersonal responses.
Australia has committed to ending family, domestic, and sexual violence within one generation. That goal cannot be met while technology-facilitated gender-based violence keeps expanding the reach, scale and speed of abuse.
The proposed Digital Duty of Care is the single biggest lever currently on the table to change this trajectory. It would shift online services from reacting to harm after the fact, to proactively assessing and mitigating the risks their own design creates.
This is a critical time to make online spaces safer, following the release of the Federal Government’s Digital Duty of Care, which will legally require tech companies and online platforms to take all reasonable steps in identifying, preventing and reducing serious harms, like those experienced by Australian women on dating apps.
You can read the full report here
Quote attributable to Dr Karen Tindall, Behavioural Insights Team Principal Advisor
“Many women are already doing as much as they can to protect themselves on dating platforms. The platforms are far better positioned to prevent harm at scale than any one woman is.”
“The abuse women experience on dating platforms has become a widespread and hidden burden. Until now there hasn’t been a consistent way to measure it, including harms that some people write off as ‘just part of dating’. Almost all the women we surveyed had experienced at least one abusive behaviour in the past three months - most often manipulation and pressure, but also outright threats and unsolicited sexual images.”
Quote attributable to John Hartman, Minderoo Foundation CEO
“No one should have to trade their safety for connection but this research reveals a troubling reality: technology-facilitated abuse is becoming a routine part of online dating for too many Australian women.
“This is the * * most comprehensive study yet of how this abuse occurs and what can be done to stop it, highlighting the urgent need for stronger safety measures from both industry and regulators.
“Minderoo Foundation is proud to support evidence-based research that shines a light on emerging forms of abuse and helps drive practical solutions.
“Safety must be built into the design and governance of dating platforms from the outset and Australia’s Digital Duty of Care should ensure all apps take reasonable steps to prevent serious harms before they happen.”
About the report
The study was funded by Minderoo Foundation and led by the Behavioural Insights Team. Research included consultations with experts, interviews with women with lived experience of abuse on dating platforms, platform safety reviews, and a national survey of 1,008 heterosexual women across Australia who had used a dating platform in the past three months.
Minderoo Foundation funded this report through SafeAI, its initiative focused on advancing a balanced approach to AI policy that protects people, builds confidence and enables innovation. This work includes making online spaces safer and addressing harms such as online misogyny.