LONDON: A 16-year-old girl in UK was left distraught after she claimed about being gang raped by strangers in a virtual reality game. The girl, a participant in a virtual reality game was wearing a virtual headset when she saw her avatar on the screen and strangers molesting it. The incident brought her mental distress as police said she was not harmed physically.

This is the first virtual sex crime being investigated by the police. Investigators say that there are no laws against virtual rape at present, which poses many challenges for the police. The officers haven’t yet revealed the name of the game in which the girl was immersed at the time of the incident.

UK Home Secretary James Cleverly asked police to not take the case lightly and ordered a proper investigation considering the trauma inflicted on the teen. Cleverly also proposed that the accused who had shown such brute gesture on the internet would do the same in real life too.

Virtual rapes are not just a concern of the UK as similar rude conduct is thriving in Kerala with impunity. Lewd comments with rape innuendos often fill women’s social media accounts in the state. Complaints have been registered but no real progress has been made to curb such offence. Movie actresses including child actors, high-ranking women in politics and high-ranking officials have been victims of virtual rape.