So, really . . . who IS that nice man "raping" you?

One of the stats that I occasionally quote when I'm talking about role playing and representations of violence against women in SL is "29,000." That's the number of registered US sex offenders who were discovered to be using MySpace in the summer of 2007. The number comes from a paper originally published in Education Digest in January of 2008, and is significant because it highlights the degree to which social networking applications are providing a potential new field of endeavour for sex offenders.

It appears, as originally reported in TechCrunch in February of this year, that that number has grown by leaps and bounds: MySpace had, as of that date, blocked 90,000 sex offenders (some of whom had, apparently, responded by migrating to Facebook).

Now, passing over in silence jokes about why this is ANOTHER reason we don't want the "MyFace" crowd flocking to SL, it seems to me that this does, or certainly should, give some pause for thought with regard to the issue of "consensual" depictions of violent sexual behaviours in SL. I take it as a given that the numbers of sex offenders in SL is not likely to even approach that found in MySpace, but does anyone want to conclude, given the range of "attractive" behaviours available here, and the utter anonymity of the application, that SL is NOT providing a fun place for some sex offenders to keep on top of their game?

In other words, are you REALLY so sure about the true nature of that nice "family man" engaging in a bit of consensual rape/snuff roleplay with you?

Or maybe you don't care? Should you?

Here are the links to the relevant stories:

http://www.pixelsandpolicy.com/pixels_and_policy/2009/11/social-gamble.html#more

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/03/responding-to-subpoena-myspace-says-90000-sex-offenders-blocked-from-site/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/03/thousands-of-myspace-sex-offender-refugees-found-on-facebook/

hmmmmm Let's see, haven't I been advocating for verifiable real life information on each and every person with an SL account? Thanks for more fuel for the fire.

I'll say it again. Who are you? Identify yourself to Linden Lab and let them keep your real life information on file, or get out.

I agree, in general principle, and for exactly these reasons, so long as that information remains safely locked away with LL, and in no way made available publicly. Otherwise, it's just fuel for stalking and harassment.

In the US, the term "Sex Offender" has become so watered down that the lists are basically worthless. Yes, you do have have the hard core rapists and child molesters, but you also have the guy who gets drunk and is caught peeing in an alley, the 19 year old boy who had sex with his 15 year old girlfriend, and the streakers from the local college. In many states, all of them are "sex offenders" and must register. So unless your "29,000" figure weeds out these lessor offenders, it is just another scare tactic.

I think SL differs greatly from Social networking sites because it is steeped in fantasy. Fantastic environments, avatars and behaviors. Anonymity too is also completely opposite of what social sites have. I don't mean anonymity to LL but anonymity between users. I think this combination of anonymity and fantasy are a boon to the normal person looking for something kinky and a bane to a real sexual pervert.

I would agree about the "boon to the normal person" part . . . but I'm not clear on why you should think that this not applies also to sex offenders? You don't think that they also crave anonymity and fantasy?

Good reasons not to divulge personal information to people you meet online, anywhere.

While the anonymity of Second Life would make it difficult to uncover the identities of sex offenders, it also makes SL a poor online venue for them to operate. I suspect there are still far more of them on Myspace, Facebook and more adult oriented sites than on SL.

I think the average SL sex fiend is more Walter Mitty than Ted Bundy.

I'm always a bit worried about concluding stuff on the basis of bald statistics. Do we have any idea what these people got themselves put on the sex offenders' register for, I wonder?

I ask because -- and I realise it might well be different in the US -- in my professional experience in the UK, the most likely reason a guy's on the sex offenders' register over here is that he's been downloading child pornography. And certainly all the -- admittedly not that many -- cases of actual sex crimes involving social networking sites in which I've had any professional involvement have involved either men targeting young teenagers (usually, but by no means exclusively, girls) or pedophiles networking with other pedophiles. And in almost all cases, the ultimate motive has been to engineer some sort of rl meeting.

If that's the case in the US, would it alter your interpretation of the figures, Scylla? My suspicion is that most registered sex offenders who find their way into SL are probably more interested in fantasies involving willing underage avatars than in anything else.

I agree with everything you say here, absolutely. I am certainly NOT arguing that anything like "most" people indulging in this kind of RP are likely to be sex offenders.

And, of course, there is at the moment absolutely no way to know for sure in any case.

As for not divulging personal information: yeah, absolutely and always, sex offenders or not.

Yeah, Innula, I agree: it would be nice to have a clearer sense of what constitutes a "sex offender" in this context, and what the statistical breakdown of the 90,000 is.

And, should the case be as you suggest it might, it would somewhat influence the nature of my concern, if not necessarily the depth of it. The problem is that, while I am sure that "fantasy" is most often utterly harmless and without larger implications or impacts, there is evidence as well that it sometimes isn't.

So a perp is getting their rocks off on a visual fantasy of rape here. That might be enough to satisfy them and keep them off the street.

If someone wants to get their jollies screwing animals in SL, then maybe that will keep the RL animals safe a while longer.

Along those same lines, if I suddenly had this craving to be part of a snuff film, it would be far safer for me to act that out here that in RL.

I would tend to think they would crave "the real thing" more than some pixellated "fantasy" representation of it, no?

In fact, I would RATHER they crave and focus SOLELY on the pixellated "fantasy", where no one gets hurt, rather than seeking out the "real thing".

That said, I agree with Chris; "Sex Offender" is such a highly-charged label that many who are labelled by it are not deserving of the scorn.

Even still, a pedophile in SL? Who cares? There are not supposed to be kids here in the first place, and sexual ageplay is banned anyway.

My first reaction is to not care. But that presupposes that people keep SL and RL separate, which some don't.

People who enjoy RP'ing either side of a rape in SL shouldn't need to care about the RL of the other person in a purely virtual world.

This also presupposes that everybody is really 18+.

As always, this comes down to common sense. Barring that, some pointed education.

Facebook is an extension of your RL. SL shouldn't be. That's the difference.

I can tell you this much, based upon statistics that I ran against our inhouse databases -- less than 10% of the registered Sex Offenders had actually committed a violent crime/act. The majority are peeping or flashing, with a few of the flashers actually masturbating in public, and as Chris mentioned, a few that were peeing in public or committed the awful act of being 18 and having sex with their 15 or 16 yr old girlfriend.

I agree with Lil and Love, 100%. An avatar that I am engaging with could be a convicted felon/Congressman, a quiet librarian, or a pop star in RL. It doesn't matter to me.

sooooo true.

not even just that, there are way less severe cases than even streaking(to use your example) that innocent ppl have been labeled 'sex offenders' by law. for example there are countless cases of girls from 15-17 who have sent provocative pics to their boyfriends who have been caught and charged, and are now labeled sex offenders.

sex offender or not, the point is you have, in most cases, NO idea who is on the other end of that computer screen, so be cautious. u could be talkin to a 'sex offender' who gave oral sex to his 16yr old girlfriend when he was 18, or u could be talkin to a seemingly nice family man with a clean record who likes to rape prostitutes on weekends... O_o

I do not play that game at all.... that rape crap, never even had the fantasy...
forced sex is not exciting or anything I want to do, because in life I'd die before some nasty perv would stick... look it just makes me sick.
I dont facebook twitter or myspace either
ok I have a myspace, but I dont do anything on it... as a matter of fact I forget where it is.

One of the stats I that I occasionally quote when I'm talking about wines I like is "1,500". That is the number of registered English cheese varieties.

Pep (takes non sequiturs to the same almost irrelevant level.)

So, really . . . who IS that nice man "raping" you?

In fact, are you sure that that nice "family man" is male at all? And are you a female really?

Pep (You have failed to put the quotation marks around the correct words in your title.)

PS Why are you assuming that all sex offenders are male? In the UK at the moment the highest profile "rape" case involves a real life female as the defendant. Ignoring the fact that sex offences and violence are two completely different concepts (as I hope you, and everyone else, grasped from my previous post) why are you implying that women are subject to violence only from men, and that men do not suffer at the hands of women? You are promoting a one-eyed attitude that doesn't hold water even at brief examination. Take your campaigns to Myspace and Facebook and enjoy your pokes.

I'd be more worried about the sex-offenders who might be shopping at the local supermarket or riding on local public transport than any that might be in SL.

It matters to me if I think about such possibilities - but I don't usually dwell on such matters while in SL and most people I meet are fairly 'normal' in their behaviour.

I'd be more worried about the violence that hysterical irrational feminist activists might do to logical rational people in the name of their search for "justice".

Pep (Or don't sticks to beat men with count?)

If Person A is not going to stop and think before they send their information to Person B, then no sort of rules are going to help. Everyone on here is *supposed* to be an adult.. old enough and supposedly responsible enough to care for themselves.

If not, then no amount of padding is going to help - they will get themselves in trouble.

1 User Agreed: Argent Stonecutter.

Oh, and IBTL

Congressman.

Steady on, now.

facebook and myspace let younger people use them also..ones that are a bit more trusting than adults..
from my experience the avg age in sl is like 30's and 40's..

facebook and myspace just seem like a better target area for someone like that.. all the teens i know are on myspace or face book..none of them are on sl..

I don't think SL turns people into rapists..and also feel it would probably curb someone from going out to hunt someone to rape..

Not saying 100% but i'm willing to bet it's less likely to happen from sl than it would a myspace or face book..

I think the whole problem is that we all have no clue how a sex offender thinks so we can't say if SL appeals to such people. If that is the case I would turn this discussion around and ask if you (any of you) roleplaying as a rape victim are making yourself more vulnerable to such a thing in RL.