Key facts
- International students are being targeted in Victoria through dating apps, assaulted, and extorted with threats of being outed in their home countries.
- Since June 2024, 95 attacks targeting gay and bisexual men were identified in Victoria, leading to 42 arrests.
- Victims are often asked for tens of thousands of dollars to prevent footage of them being shared online with contacts, including family.
- Offenders are typically young men aged 12-24, specifically targeting individuals perceived as gay or bisexual.
- Similar attacks have been reported globally, with dating apps facilitating offenders' access to potential victims.
International students in Victoria are being targeted through gay dating apps, lured into meetings, assaulted, and then extorted with threats of being 'outed' in their home countries where homosexuality is illegal. This pattern of hate crime was revealed at a Victorian inquiry into hate crimes.
Chad Hughes, chief executive of Thorne Harbour Health, told the inquiry that since June 2024, police identified 95 attacks targeting gay and bisexual men across Victoria, resulting in 42 arrests. However, he believes the actual number is significantly higher, as many victims are hesitant to report due to mistrust of police.
Jenna Tuke, chief executive of Switchboard Victoria, stated that some victims fear their sexuality being shared with family members overseas, leading to extortion. She described instances where callers were threatened with the release of videos to all their contacts, including overseas family, if they did not deposit large sums of money. Tuke noted a pattern of targeting individuals perceived as not 'out', for whom the consequences of being revealed as gay or queer would be more severe.
At a recent community forum, 12 men disclosed being attacked after arranging meetings via dating apps, but only two reported the incidents to the police, with one regretting the decision. Hughes described the attacks as deliberate and humiliating, involving victims being forced to recite slurs on camera, with footage shared online to gain status among 'manosphere' audiences. He emphasized that offenders, some as young as 13, specifically target individuals perceived as gay or bisexual, classifying these as hate crimes.
Tuke highlighted recurring patterns: victims are instructed to meet in public, then subjected to violence, filmed, and extorted. Most app-based violence is occurring in Melbourne's outer northern and south-eastern suburbs, with a cluster also noted in Fitzroy. Victoria Police have confirmed that anti-LGBTQ+ influencers have been promoting 'methods of attack' online, and the role of 'far-right manosphere influencers' is part of the inquiry's terms of reference.
Heather Corkhill, legal director at Equality Australia, informed the inquiry that similar attacks are occurring globally, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. She noted that dating apps have significantly increased offenders' ability to identify and reach potential victims. Corkhill stated that offenders are almost always young men aged between 12 and 24. Data from New South Wales shows that between January 2023 and October 2025, police recorded 197 incidents of LGBTQA+ hate-related violence, with approximately 64% committed by young people, predominantly males aged 12 to 24.