'I came out of that situation with severe trust issues, and I am not sure when things will go back to normal.' 'It was so normal for to have relationships with minors, in the bubble that we lived in,' they said.

One victim cited in the report said they had been left with 'mental scars' by their experience. Sumaiya Zahoor, the NSPCC's policy officer for child safety online, told Sky News the increasing use of haptics in virtual reality devices, whereby vibrations and other forces give the user physical feedback to their actions, made experiences 'much more immersive' but also 'a lot more intrusive than you would anticipate'.Īs well as the phantom touch, the Child Safeguarding & Immersive Technologies report also highlighted how abuse perpetrators used avatars to desensitise their victims and 'normalise' their behaviour. It said virtual reality, where users put on a headset that puts them inside a digital space, potentially online with others, was giving offenders new opportunities to commit their crimes. The 'phantom touch' sensation is one of several forms of exploitation detailed in research commissioned by the NSPCC charity, with a warning these immersive online platforms are presenting a 'monumental hurdle' for law enforcement and efforts to protect vulnerable youngsters. Sex offenders are targeting children inside virtual reality environments, a new study has warned - with some victims even suffering the physical response to being touched without their consent.

How to get touched in vr