British psychotherapist and researcher Nina Jane Patel reported being "virtually gang raped" on the Facebook metaverse . "Within 60 seconds of walking in, I was verbally and sexually harassed ," she said.
According to Patel, the technological advancement of the simulation made it feel as if it had happened in real life .
The metaverse researcher said she felt "shocked" after three to four avatars attacked her moments after entering the virtual world.
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In a post on Medium, Patel said: “ Within 60 seconds of walking in, I was verbally and sexually harassed: three to four male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but my avatar was virtually gang raped and had photos taken. When I tried to walk away, they yelled at me: ' Don't pretend you didn't like it ' ” .
It is not the first time that cases of sexual violence have been reported in the metaverse . In early December, a beta tester reported that an unknown person groped her avatar .
A spokesperson for Meta said the tech company regrets Patel's experience and that its intention is for Horizon Venues users to have a "positive experience" and to be able to "easily find security tools to help them in a situation like this." . "They will help us investigate and take action," they said.
