Police in the Australian state of Victoria have arrested 35 individuals who have been using gay dating apps to lure, attack, and rob gay men, sometimes posting videos of their homophobic abuse online. The arrests, which have occurred over the last eight months, have mostly apprehended male suspects between the ages of 13 and 20, The Star Observer reported.
The incidents occurred in various suburbs. The arrests have resulted in charges of armed robbery, false imprisonment, violent disorder, affray, causing injury, and other assault-related offenses. While some of the suspects have already faced court hearings, others await. It’s just the most recent incident of gay apps being used to target queer men.
Related
Priest allegedly visited gay bathhouses & his Grindr data outed him. Now he’s suing Grindr.
He lost his job at an anti-LGBTQ+ org and he accuses Grindr of “significant damage” to his reputation.
“There is absolutely no place for this type of concerning behavior in our society. It will not be tolerated. Everyone has a right to go about their lives, meet new people, and start a relationship in safety,” Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Carolyn Deer said.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
Deer said that police have been working with the apps to provide more safety information. However, she added that app users should protect their identities and locations and verify the other person’s identity before meeting. She also reminded victims to contact the police directly, as in-app reports of user misconduct aren’t automatically forwarded to police.
“These attacks are deliberate, organised, and hateful,” Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ Commissioner Joe Ball said. “I know how distressing this is. Many of us remember the days when violence against gay men was normalized, overlooked – even expected. We will not go back.”
Ball and Vicki Ward, a member of parliament who is also the minister for equality, said they’ll be working with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to create a community reporting tool to help track and respond to anti-LGBTQ+ violence.
This isn’t the first time that gay hook-up apps have been used to target queer men. In December 2024, Sydney police announced that teenage gangs had been targeting gay men in “pedo hunts.” In each case, the gay male victims were met in public parks with individuals they met on a dating app like Grindr. Instead of a consensual hook-up, they were confronted by multiple teenagers, who then taunted, beat, and robbed the victims, sometimes using weapons.
Several of the victims were forced to confess to being
In 2017, the local AIDS Action Council warned about extortionists using gay hook-up apps to blackmail victims by threatening to reveal the victim’s sexuality publicly to family and friends.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.