'I froze, it was a nightmare': Women gang-raped by male avatars in Metaverse

In a dreadful encounter, 47-year-old Nina Jane Patel alleged that she was gangraped in Metaverse within 60 seconds of joining the virtual world. She pointed out that this incident happened when she was on beta testing platform.

Patel, who explained this horrific incident on a web portal medium, said, 'I was verbally and sexually harassed soon after entering the platform. Three to four male avatars with male voices virtually gang-raped my avatar and took photos. When she tried to get away, they yelled, "Don't pretend you didn't love it."

Patel said that the incident happened so fast and she didn't know what was happening around her. "I froze, it was a nightmare," she added. The victim further added that she has been facing anxiety attacks ever since the incident and threw her headphones to end the horrific experience.

Those who sign into Facebook's 'metaverse,' a virtual world in which avatars can meet and communicate, as well as tour a rapidly increasing network of virtual destinations such as cities, country scenes, or cafes, could witness the torture firsthand. Meta (formerly Facebook) had announced to make its social virtual reality (VR) experience ‘Horizon Worlds’ available for free to everyone 18 years of age or older in the US and Canada.