The French government has just announced a trial using virtual reality to try to prevent domestic violence. There has been considerable e...
The French government has just announced a trial using virtual reality to try to prevent domestic violence.
There has been considerable excitement about this, with claims the virtual reality experience is an “empathy machine” that enhances the perpetrator’s ability to empathise with a victim’s fear.
As Australia grapples with its own domestic violence crisis, overseas companies are making noises about using the technology there.
In our new book Virtual Realities, we explain the need to be sceptical of claims about what virtual reality can do for social and psychological problems, including domestic violence.
Purpose of trial
The French trial will involve 30 men serving sentences, or on parole, for domestic violence. They will be volunteers, wear a virtual reality headset and watch 12-minute, 360-degree videos.
They will encounter a range of dramatised domestic abuse scenarios involving a male and female couple and later, their infant child. One example released by the French government shows a man who shouts abuse and points a knife menacingly at the camera (as seen in the tweet below).
[Abonnés] #Justice : la réalité virtuelle bientôt testée pour lutter contre les violences conjugales https://t.co/PMGqKjAE0l pic.twitter.com/y3fiBSf22C
— La Voix du Nord (@lavoixdunord) September 24, 2021
Other sample clips show the man threatening and assaulting his female partner. This is then supposed to trigger empathy in the perpetrators.
Boosting empathy
Enhancing empathy is important because violent offenders have been shown to have...
