First of all a definition… ‘Catfishing’ is when a person creates a fake dating app identity (say on Tinder or Grinder) to charm someone for the purposes of sex. Anna Rowe has filed a petition to Theresa May and eight other politicians of note, asking them to address ‘Making a fake online profile with the intent to use women/men for sex, should be a crime.’
The petition goes on to suggest that ‘Using the ‘catfish’ approach (a fake online persona used for creating romance online) to establish the relationship and build trust in their story, these individuals then make the catfish personal by meeting their victim to pursue a relationship under the premise of their alias. This results in the victim believing that it is a real relationship.’
Anna Rowe’s petition is from her personal story of a ‘catfishing’ pro who created the profile of the man in this image Antony Ray. She adds ‘
In my experience after 14 months, I discovered not only was his ‘Antony Ray’ identity fake but he was married and had a dedicated phone for his conquests under his fake life. During our entire relationship he was seeing other women, claiming to be away working in Europe. He spent his weekends with his wife & children, not his parents where he claimed his mum had been diagnosed with cancer.
He used me like a hotel with benefits under the disguise of a romantic, loving relationship that he knew I craved. He took advantage of my trust and took away my right to choose. I did not or would not consent to have a sexual relationship with a married man, let alone a man who was actively having relations with multiple women simultaneously.
His behavior was definitely premeditated showing his intent to use women, yet the current law will not find his actions a criminal offence.
If this man had ‘asked’ me for money, he would have committed a criminal offence under the fraud act. The fact that I gave him presents, bought many things that come with being in a long term relationship, preparing to spend your lives together and gave him a personal hotel service all those months is not seen as personal gain or causing a loss in the eyes of the law.’
Companies like Tinder rely on the user community to police good and bad people but there’s not really a mechanism against the really sneaky people who are out to capture as much as they can and use these services as a fishing pond for their own gain.
If you care you can sign the petition here. . Go on, this is a discrace!
The post Dating Sites: Should ‘Catfishing’ Be Illegal? appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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