Editor’s note: This story discusses sexual assault. If you need to report or discuss a sexual assault, you can call the Rape & Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 888-421-1100.
Hundreds of instances of rape in Utah in recent years have been linked to dating apps, according to a Brigham Young University study released in November.
To address this issue, state Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, is reintroducing a bill during the upcoming 2023 legislative session that would create specific requirements for online dating companies aimed at making dating apps safer.
Under the proposed legislation, online dating platforms must provide a list of safety measures, how Utah users can report assaults, notify members if background checks are conducted and for the platforms to inform users if a member they’ve messaged has been banned from the app.
The study found of nearly 2,000 rape cases reviewed where the perpetrator was an acquaintance, 14% occurred during the initial meetup after matching on a dating app. Researchers also found the assaults to be more violent and target vulnerable individuals, such as people with mental illnesses.
“We really believe that our findings indicate that violent sexual predators use dating apps as hunting grounds for vulnerable victims,” said Dr. Julie Valentine, a BYU nursing professor who led the research.
Valentine said she’s concerned about dating apps’ approach to providing safe spaces and that Romero’s bill is a “great starting point.”
Valentine has been working with Romero on the bill since it was first introduced in the 2022 legislative session, specifically on the language of the bill.
“Every word that you use in a bill is important,” Valentine said, adding that the bill would require online dating providers to use specific language that would avoid victim blaming.
Romero said removing any victim-blaming language was important in ensuring people feel comfortable in reporting.
“When we talk about sexual assault, in particular, most people don’t come forward because they don’t feel like they’re going to be believed,” she said.
Valentine said the original language of the bill focused on what users should or shouldn’t do, placing the burden of safety on the users rather than the app provider, something she wasn’t comfortable with.
“We wrote the bill so that there would be increased responsibility on dating app companies to clearly state sexual assault and clearly have reporting mechanisms for sexual assault and support services for sexual assault,” Valentine said now.
The bill was made a committee bill according to House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee Chair Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, meaning lawmakers generally agree on the legislation. He added it’s “an important issue” and the bill is “highly likely” to pass in the upcoming session.
Research findings
The goal of their research, according to Valentine, was to find any differences between rapes committed by an acquaintance compared to cases where the rape occurred on the first meetup arranged through a dating app.
For the study, the research team reviewed about 3,400 sexual assault victims’ medical exam charts from 2017 to 2020 in Utah. They then narrowed their analysis down to rapes committed by acquaintances which accounted for 1,968 assaults.
Of that 1,968, 14%, or 274, occurred during the first meetup after matching on a dating app.
The most concerning finding, Valentine said, was the high rate of strangulation with about a third of victims being strangled and the cases being more violent in general.
The researchers also found about 60% of victims in the cases they reviewed had reported a mental illness.
About 22% of victims were college students and 15% were between 14 and 17 years old, despite dating apps requiring members to be at least 18 years old.
Because of the high percentage of sexual assault victims who don’t report, Valentine said the findings of the study are “the tip of the iceberg” and added she plans on working with app industry leaders to influence institutional change outside of legislation.
