Dating Platforms Must Prioritize Women's Safety or Risk Losing Users

A groundbreaking Australian study has revealed the alarming prevalence of tech-based abuse on dating platforms, with nearly all women surveyed reporting some form of harmful behaviour. The research, conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team and funded by the Minderoo Foundation, examined both obvious and subtle forms of abuse experienced by women. The findings highlight a critical gap between the frequency of abuse and the effectiveness of platform responses.

Widespread Abuse Across Dating Platforms

Almost every woman surveyed in a new Australian study had experienced some form of tech-based abuse on dating platforms. 99% of 1,008 heterosexual women surveyed said they had experienced at least one abusive behaviour in the previous three months. On average, women experienced these behaviours on a weekly basis.

The research comes from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and was funded by the Minderoo Foundation. Its new report, Understanding Tech-Based Abuse of Women on Dating Platforms, looks beyond obvious abuse such as threats, scams and unsolicited sexual images. It includes behaviours such as love bombing, negging, gaslighting, persistent contact and monitoring.

The report is available for download and provides detailed insights into the scope and nature of the problem. The comprehensive approach to categorizing abuse helps reveal patterns that might otherwise remain hidden in standard reporting metrics.

Psychological Abuse Dominates User Experiences

Psychological and emotional abuse topped the list. Women often dealt with this type of behaviour by unmatching or avoiding the person rather than reporting it. More obvious incidents were reported more frequently, including catfishing (34%), unwanted explicit images (32%), threats (22%) and financial scams (22%).

The burden of staying safe still falls too heavily on women.

The disparity between experiencing abuse and reporting it suggests that many women view certain harmful behaviours as inevitable aspects of online dating. This normalization of psychological abuse creates an environment where subtle manipulation and control tactics go largely unaddressed. The prevalence of these behaviours on a weekly basis indicates systemic issues rather than isolated incidents.

Platform Responses Fall Short of User Needs

Reporting did not always leave women feeling safer. Among those who reported harmful behaviour, 19% felt their complaint was barely or not at all taken seriously. A quarter said the platform's response did little or nothing to improve how safe they felt.

23% actually felt less confident after the platform's response. This troubling statistic suggests that the reporting process itself can become another source of distress for victims. When platforms fail to take complaints seriously or provide inadequate responses, they risk discouraging future reporting and enabling continued abuse.

Safety should be built into dating apps from the start, rather than leaving women to deal with the consequences.

Recommendations for Systemic Change

The report makes one thing clear. The burden of staying safe still falls too heavily on women. BIT recommends that platforms detect harmful behaviour earlier, make reporting easier and stop offenders from simply creating new accounts.

These recommendations call for a fundamental shift in how dating platforms approach user safety. Proactive detection systems, streamlined reporting mechanisms, and stronger account verification processes could significantly reduce the prevalence of abuse. The emphasis on prevention rather than reaction represents a necessary evolution in platform design and accountability.