Virtual indecent assault: Time for the criminal law to enter the realm of virtual reality

Abstract

Virtual reality is going to play a large role in the future of society. It has the potential to provide a new medium of communication that will allow communities, businesses and recreation to all extend into the virtual realm. As with any emerging technology, the law must decide how to respond. When the technology throws into question what the law considers to be real, we are starting from a relatively clean slate. The purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which virtual acts can cause real harm to a user and analyse whether the potential for harm would justify the intervention of the criminal law into virtual worlds. This question is approached through the case study of virtual indecent assault. This paper argues that the potential harm of virtual indecent assault justifies the intervention of the criminal law. In light of this conclusion, this paper also aims to outline a set of principles that can shape the criminal law's response. These principles are applied in the evaluation of the different methods of criminalisation that would be available in the context of virtual indecent assault.