Targeting of LGBTQ+ International Students via Dating Apps
International students from countries where homosexuality is illegal are being lured into meetings through gay dating apps, only to be assaulted and extorted with threats of being outed, a Victorian hate crimes inquiry has heard.
Since June 2024, police have identified 95 attacks targeting gay and bisexual men across Victoria, leading to 42 arrests, Chad Hughes, chief executive of Thorne Harbour Health, told the inquiry on Wednesday.
Hughes, whose organisation provides LGBTIQ+ health services, stated that the actual number of incidents is likely much higher, as many victims hesitate to report due to mistrust of police.
Jenna Tuke, chief executive of Switchboard Victoria, who also appeared at the hearing, explained that some victims fear their sexuality being revealed to family overseas and are consequently extorted.
“We’ve heard a lot of stories of people who’ve been … contacted after the offence and asked to deposit tens of thousands of dollars in an account – ‘otherwise, this video will be shared with everyone in your contacts,’” Tuke said.
“We’ve certainly seen a pattern of overseas students being targeted in countries where … homosexuality is illegal.
“[The] family implications for those people are absolutely massive.”
Tuke recounted a caller to her support service who said:
“I’ve got until 10pm, and if I don’t give them this money, they’ve said they’re going to release this to everyone in my contacts, including family overseas.”
She added,
“We’re hearing those types of stories quite frequently.
“It does appear that they may be targeting people who they think are not ‘out’, and for whom the kind of consequences of being outed as gay or queer will be greater.”
Assault Footage Shared Within the ‘Manosphere’
At a recent community forum convened by Thorne Harbour, Hughes reported that 12 men disclosed being attacked after arranging meetings through dating apps. Only two had reported the incidents to police, and one regretted doing so.
“The attacks are deliberate and humiliating. The victims are forced to recite slurs on camera and footage is shared online to give the perpetrators status with their target audiences: others in the manosphere,” Hughes said.
“Some offenders are as young as 13. These victims were not chosen at random. They were specifically targeted because they were perceived to be gay or bisexual. These are hate crimes.”
Tuke noted recurring patterns in these cases: victims are typically instructed to meet in public places before being subjected to physical violence, filmed, and often extorted.
She also indicated that most app-based violence incidents occur in Melbourne’s outer northern and south-eastern suburbs, with a notable cluster in Fitzroy.
Over the past year, Australia has reported similar incidents nationwide, with Victoria police confirming that anti-LGBTQ+ influencers have promoted “methods of attack” online. The inquiry’s terms of reference include examining the role of “far-right manosphere influencers.”
Heather Corkhill, legal director at Equality Australia, informed the inquiry that comparable attacks have been reported globally, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
“I’ve even spoken to someone in Lebanon who described exactly the same type of attack occurring there,” Corkhill said.
Corkhill emphasized that dating apps enable offenders to identify and reach potential victims with unprecedented ease.
“While there have always been hate-motivated crimes against our communities, the level of access and the ability to reach victims is at a different level now,” she said.
She added that offenders are “almost always” young men aged between 12 and 24.
Equality Australia referenced data from New South Wales, where a dedicated hate crime unit recorded 197 incidents of LGBTQA+ hate-related violence between January 2023 and October 2025.
Approximately 64% of these offences were committed by young people, predominantly males aged 12 to 24.
