Internet the cause of rising attacks on women?

Jane MacDonald, director of Wellington Sexual Health Clinic who performs forensic examinations in molestation cases is of the view that internet is the cause of increase sexual harassment in the past one year. She asserts that women often felt they could trust men they have never met because they have shared personal information online because of which they find themselves in a venerable position to sexual attack by inviting or going to the person’s residence. It is through internet that the people decide to meet at a particular place. In some cases, they were being forced into having sex, or the sex was consensual but they were underage. Gay men were also getting into risky situations. Internet Safety Group representative Rachel Harrison said people who used dating websites should be cautious about face-to-face meetings and arrange them for a public place during the day. In May, a Wellington jury acquitted a man, 44, who had been accused of sexually violating a woman at her house after they met on a dating website. In 2004, former doctor Matthew James Boyd was convicted of indecent assault and having sex with underage girls, he had met in Internet chat rooms.