“MR’s lawyers believe this constitutes a new frontier in sexual assault – what Cecelia Prewett, a consultant to the legal team, describes as a “gamification” of sexual abuse perpetrated and encouraged by isolated men who pool their anger towards women in online forums.”

“It’s a view broadly shared by criminologists and sociologists who study the intersection between human sexuality and crime – although they note a similar wave of sharking attacks in Japan about 15 years ago that attracted an online audience before subsiding again.”