A warning - the following story contains elements that may distress some people. South Australia has unveiled a nation-first plan to ban domestic violence and sex offenders from dating apps. It follows a report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2022 that found a third of respondents were subjected to sexual violence by someone they had met on an app or website in the previous five years.
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TRANSCRIPT:
"That person was very good at what they did and presented themselves in a way that would have made anyone feel very lucky. Over time, that person sought intentionally to strip parts of me away through the cycle of abuse that we see. This person also used platforms like dating apps to move from victim survivor to victim survivor."
Meet Leesa Scanlan, talking here about a past relationship she says was characterised by coercive control.
She's now an advocate, and part of a push by the South Australian government to outlaw domestic violence and sexual offenders from online dating.
Sarah Quick is the Commissioner for Victims' Rights in South Australia.
"It won't necessarily be easy, but I certainly don't think that's a reason not to try. We have a responsibility to ensure these apps are as safe as possible."
Their concerns are not unfounded.
Around 200,000 South Australians are among the more than three million Australians using online dating apps at any time.
And a report into online dating survey results released by the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2022 found a third of respondents across the country have been subjected to sexual violence by someone they had met on an app or website in the previous five years.
South Australian Attorney General and acting Premier Kyam Maher says they want to protect victims by putting the onus on those who seek to do the wrong thing.
"A couple of years ago we changed the legislation so that convicted child sex offenders can't work with children. And in that legislation the onus is on the offender. So if you're a registered child sex offender and you work with children then you are committing an offence as the offender. And that's the model that as a starting point we're looking at here. If you have a conviction for sexual violence, for domestic violence, for child sex offences, then you will be banned from dating apps."
Under South Australia's proposal, these offenders will be kept away from online dating platforms for a minimum of 10 years and face jail time for breaches.
Serious offenders could be barred from online dating platforms for life, while those while those caught failing to comply with bans would face up to five years behind bars.
The Attorney General says some of the impetus for the change has come from the online dating industry itself.
"Last year Match Group, which is the biggest worldwide owner of dating apps - about half of all people using dating apps are on a Match Group platform like Tinder - reached out to the South Australian government. They'd seen our work in terms of banning children from social media and got in contact with us and asked do we want to look at a way to become another world leader in reform in online safety. And we've done a lot of work over about the last 12 months but particularly since the election about how this might look."
Sarah Quick says advocates and others who have been the victim of violence through dating apps are also keen to ensure that offenders are not able to use platforms to find more people to harm.
"Relationship-based violence is particularly damaging because it involves a breach of trust. And people should be able to use these apps without fear that their trust is going to be exploited by known offenders."
Kyam Maher says they're still working through the details of how the reforms will work.
"We are keen to do this as quickly as possible. But whenever you're doing this sort of reform, when you have world leading reform, you want to make sure you get it right. So we want to do it quickly, but we want to make sure we're covering this as broadly as possible, and getting this as right as possible.”
But advocates like Leesa Scanlan, who have lived experience of domestic and sexual violence, will be part of that conversation.
Leesa says their perspective is invaluable.
"I support exploring practical ways to strengthen accountability while also recognising that this is one piece of a much larger puzzle, alongside education, early intervention, further legal reform, and improving reporting pathways. The people most affected by these systems should have a voice in shaping them."
[[If you or someone you know wants to talk about sexual assault or harassment, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.]]
