Illustration photo by Getty Images
The dating site Grindr, an app for gay, bi, trans and queer people, has become increasingly unsafe. OUT LGBT Welfare is concerned about South Africa LGBTQIA+ community as the “Grindr Gang” still claims victims.OUT has received 13 reports of attacks by the so-called “Grindr Gang” in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, including Sandton, Randburg, Fourways, Tembisa, Soweto and Lenasia.
Dating sites are meant to make dating more accessible and fun, but the reality is that they have increasingly become a place where criminality thrives.
The dating site Grindr, an app for gay, bi, trans and queer people, has become increasingly unsafe.
OUT LGBT welfarean organization that defends the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community says that the “Grindr Gang” is still claiming victims.
READ MORE | Online ‘boyfriend’ scammed of R55,000 and ready to give up on love: dating coach steps in
“Over the past few years, numerous members of the LGBTQIA+ community, predominantly gay, bisexual and other queer men, have been targeted by criminals through the use of dating apps,” an OUT statement said.
The modus operandi is when the victims arrive on the arranged ‘date’ they are usually restrained by several men. They are often beaten, threatened and forced to transfer the contents of their bank accounts to their attackers or to ask relatives to pay the criminals for their release.
OUT has received 13 reports of attacks between June 2022 and February 2023 by the so-called “Grindr Gang” in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, including Sandton, Randburg, Fourways, Tembisa, Soweto and Lenasia.
READ MORE | Dating app burnout is real—here’s what you can do to combat it
Lerato Phalakathela, Human Rights Manager at OUT LGBT Well-being, says they are urging the LGBTQIA+ community to use dating apps with caution because the ‘Grindr Gang’ is actively preying on new victims.
“What we’ve also noticed is that some of the victims have gone to other platforms and apps besides Grindr, such as Tinder and Ads Africa.”
Newsletter
Lovebytes
Live with love, live well with our specially curated relationship, wedding and sex stories.
Sign up
Any victim faced with this type of behavior by the police should immediately contact the station commander to report it.
They can also raise the matter to the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID): 0800 111 969 / 012 399 0000 / complaints@ipid.gov.za.
LGBTQIA+ victims of recent and past dating app attacks are asked to continue to confidentially report such incidents to OUT by emailing report@out.org.za.
Information provided by OUT LGBT Benestar
FAIR-USE COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as citation, syndication, criticism, commenting, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by the copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
-This article has no negative impact on the original works (It would actually be positive for them).
-This article is also for teaching and inspirational purposes.
– It is not transformative in nature
Source link