'I was abused after meeting man on dating app'

A woman who says she was abused by a partner she met on a dating app wants the law changed to make online dating safer.

Heather Richardson, from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, started using dating apps for the first time two years ago after a long-term relationship ended.

She said the experience had made her realise that there were "huge gaps in online dating safety" and wants previous domestic abuser to be banned from the platforms.

"People that have committed serious crimes can access dating apps and pick out their next victims," she said.

Richardson was abused for 16 months before she was able to escape the relationship. She is unable to share more details as police are now investigating the incident.

However, she wanted to raise awareness about the issue and call for a change in the law to force dating apps to require government-issued ID verification for all users.

Richardson would also like convicted domestic abuser, stalkers, and those convicted of coercive control or sexual assault to be banned from creating accounts on dating platforms operating within the UK.

"I had a choice to move on quietly or try and do something about it and turn a bad experience into something positive.

"People can opt in to verify their profiles if they want to, but there's no standard.

"I'm asking for apps to require everyone to verify who they are and for the government to work with dating apps and charities to better safeguard people who are using the apps," she said.

Saskia Garner, head of policy and campaigns at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said the charity had "long supported moves to better identify perpetrators who choose to use online platforms to pursue their victims".

"It's absolutely vital that if they have concerns or they feel unsafe or they want to flag up risks, that those apps take those reports very seriously and that they prevent those perpetrators from continuing to use their platforms," she said.

"There needs to be far more done to share information across all these different platforms to better identify perpetrators. As we know, many of them will be creating fake accounts, multiple identifications and different accounts in order to do this.

"We know the technology is out there and exist to better identify these perpetrators".

The Online Dating and Discovery Association is the official trade body representing some of the most well-known dating apps on the market.

Simon Newman, chief executive, said online in general there are "lots and lots of examples of behaviour that we would consider inappropriate" and dating is "no exception to that".

"There are some things that apps will already do, so sharing information between themselves in terms of offenders and others that have proven to display harmful behaviour," he said.

"We've also been speaking to government about extending Clare's Law, giving people the right to ask and the right to know about someone's potential risk to them. We think that should be extended to users on dating apps.

"We've (also) been asking for things like imposing pre and post bail charge conditions. So that means that if you are arrested or charged with an offence of violence, of stalking, even fraud, for example, then there should be a condition placed on your license that effectively prohibits you from accessing dating apps."

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