‘Are we dating the same guy?’: Women turn to Facebook to uncover cheating and violence Experts say use of groups to warn others about dangerous men is indictment on governments’ failure to keep women safe.
“Given that one in four women will be raped or sexually assaulted, and many lack confidence that statutory services will keep them safe, it is understandable that women are using these spaces to share red flags and warn each other about dangerous men.
“For ordinary blokes, it’s not going to be too much of a risk, because they won’t have the money,” he said, “but for rich and powerful men, what we’re seeing increasingly is that they will apply to Facebook, Meta, and ask for details of the person who posted, so they can launch legal proceedings against them, and they get a court order from the court to disclose the woman’s details.”.
Under the scheme, it is possible to ask the police to check whether a current or ex-partner has a violent or abusive past – and the topic is raised regularly in the groups, with, in some cases, women finding out about their partners’ criminal histories through tipoffs on Facebook.
“There is a defamation risk,” said Mark Stephens of Howard Kennedy LLP, “and one of the challenges, particularly of abusive and controlling men, is that they are increasingly using defamation laws to silence women about their abuse.”.
