“Not only was I groped last night, but there were other people there who supported this behaviour, which made me feel isolated […].” ⁠

This technology’s predecessors – think early computer games such as 1989’s SimCity – have been around for decades, with periodic leaps in complexity.

Facebook’s announcement on October 29, 2021, that it would invest billions into its own metaverse technology – and change its company name to Meta in the process – has pre-emptively mainstreamed the idea of virtual reality as part of our daily lives.

Sadly, for women active on social media, none of this will come as a surprise.

As far back as 2016, a gamer named Jordan Belamire wrote an open letter describing being violated in VR archery game Quivr, where she said a male avatar “chased me around, making grabbing and pinching motions near my chest”.

“Harassment in the metaverses is a serious issue that the industry needs to come together on to put in place the correct security controls and safety measures,” Patel says. “This is/will continue to be problematic for both men and women as our world fast moves from the 2D internet as we know it into the 3D internet space.”

As with real life, malevolent actors may pose as a legitimate job recruiter or love interest, and, having established a false sense of trust, lure their unsuspecting victims into prostitution or forced labour.

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One day, a young man had approached her, looking to be friends. Over time, they became close. He repeatedly told her how beautiful she was and that he had fallen in love with her. However, this 18-year-old boy was in reality a middle-aged trafficker.

Eventually, he asked if they could meet for ice cream. When she arrived at the appointed place, the boy seen in the photos was there. He was part of the trafficking plot.

In person, he seemed different from the person she had come to know in their chats. But she didn’t care; they were in love! He picked her up from the railway station and drove to a small cafe. Then, they took a ride into the countryside.

The next thing she remembers is waking up in a hotel room. She had been given a strong sedative that had knocked her out. The boy approached her with explicit photos of them in bed, naked.

In an aggressive tone, he told her that if she didn’t do as she was told, he would share the photos with her school and her family. He told her that to avoid this, she would have to sleep with men on occasion.

This happens to countless young girls in China and around the world. While many of the victims do as they are told and agree to enter into prostitution to avoid the humiliation, in this case, the girl went to her parents.

Is Hong Kong ready to get the best out of the metaverse?

The word “metaverse” was coined by American sci-fi author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 book Snow Crash.

In it, he describes a 3D virtual space where individuals appear via digital avatars, which could be a cartoonlike human figure, an animal or a superhero, as long as they didn’t exceed a particular height, to “prevent people from walking around a mile high”.

As these worlds are developed by Facebook, Microsoft and gaming platforms, metaverse-based commerce and business will expand, incorporating digital currency, marketplace/digital commerce, digital assets, entertainment and events, online shopping and workplaces, and new, internal forms of social media, which already exist in gaming and adult metaverse applications.

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Other companies already engaged in metaverse platforms include Wendy’s, Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Nike. And in the meta­verse players can buy weapons, armour and even property with either online currencies or, in some cases, real money.

Think of Second Life. Since 2003, the platform has allowed people to use their PCs to create an identity, meet people through its chat and texting functions, buy a virtual home or build their own from advertising listings. Even back then, things were realistic but addictive enough that people who entered these worlds sometimes found it hard to escape.

According to research firm Gartner, by 2026, 25 per cent of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for “work, shopping, education, social, or entertainment”.

“I can’t wait for these worlds to be developed,” says Johnny Chong, founder of Tamee, a platform that matches companies with projects based on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

“Imagine the range of possibilities for visiting new places, meeting new people from all over the world, and how amazing it will be to have the imagination of the designers go completely wild. And this can be done from the privacy of our own home.”

A talk-show radio host, who asked not to be named, had the opposite reaction: “I can’t think of anything more revolting. We have our own reality. Who would want to give this up to enter a reality that is not real? It reminds me of those opium dens where people would go off and take drugs to escape their lives. This idea is going in the wrong direction.”

Vivek Sharma, vice-president of Horizon, stated in a recent blog post that it would create “more personal space for people” and make it “easier to avoid un­wanted interactions”.

“If someone tries to enter your Personal Boundary,” he wrote, “the system will halt their forward movement as they reach the boundary. You won’t feel it […]

“This builds upon our existing hand harassment measures that were already in place, where an avatar’s hands would disappear if they encroached upon someone’s personal space.”

Sexual assault in the metaverse, viral dance, and Asian aunties

At the Mekong Club, we work with the private sector to fight human trafficking, and we are exploring a role we and others like us can play in the metaverse development process.

Safeguards must be put in place to prevent vulnerable individuals being harassed, or groomed into exploitative situations. Users need to be educated about the potential for human trafficking.

For these worlds to be safe, online police might be required to patrol the environments and detect human-rights violations, before confronting the abusers in real life.

Whatever processes and procedures are put in place, there is the need for them to be monitored and reviewed as these virtual worlds unfold.

The Mekong Club is exploring different ways to ensure the metaverse is a safe, healthy online space. One such example is virtual-reality film tours and workshops.

Virtual reality (VR) represents “a three-dimen­sional, simulated environment that is generated by computer technology” and it focuses on “an experiential interface rather than observational”, writes Kyle DeGuzman in an article on the Studio­Binder app.

What is the metaverse, how will it work and why does Facebook want in?

The metaverse has the potential to provide a medium for workshops and talks to raise much-needed awareness on the topic of modern slavery within the metaverse itself. Online billboards and advertising can be used to promote these events, and an avatar to deliver the content. Metaverse-facing offices will allow NGOs to reach people within these worlds.

And with ESG (environmental, social and govern­ance) emerging as a key area of importance for private companies to measure their contribution to the planet, communities and workforces, the same values should be carried over into the development of this new kind of reality. Under the flag of their ESG initiatives, businesses have an opportunity to be champions of change in these new worlds.

“A safer metaverse. I don’t know about you, but this is where I want to be,” wrote Patel in an article on the Medium website in February. “As a woman, as a mother, as an ally for upholding human rights, I think this is where most decent human beings want to be.

“In addition to the hate I’ve received [Patel says she received death threats and abusive comments on social media and via email after several stories were published about her sexual harassment experience in Horizon Venues], I’ve also received many messages of support. These are my people. I know there is so much potential. A safer metaverse is possible for those who want it.”