Online dating apps are "the new weapon" used by those targeting vulnerable people looking for safe connections with others, according to a Canberra sexual violence support centre.
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre chief executive Chrystina Stanford is backing interventions to tackle increasing rates of sexual violence stemming from online dating.
Ms Stanford wanted this to include more avenues for users to seek help, investments in cultural change, and rolling out systems that held perpetrators to account.
A national roundtable on online dating safety was held in Sydney yesterday, looking at ways to better protect people using online dating and matchmaking services.
The meeting was convened by Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.
They were joined by executives from Bumble, Grindr and Match Group, women's safety experts, community groups and the eSafety and sexual violence commissioners.
Ms Stanford said the crisis centre was hearing reports of unsafe behaviours including online bullying, or people catfishing users with phoney identities.
But she said it was not the technology, but the abuse of power and the cultural issues that caused and minimised the serious impacts of sexual violence.
"It is the same abuse of power we see in all sexual violence, simply using a different weapon," she said.
"The problem of sexual violence is increasing every year and will continue to increase until we invest in the whole response effectively as a community."
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland described the morning's discussions as an "important first step" but acknowledged that it would not be solved overnight.
Ms Rowland said it showed the scale and the scope of online harms.
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