Document Type : Research Article
Author
PhD Graduate, Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Principles of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Objective: This study aims to elucidate the nature, elements, and categories of sexual offences in the metaverse and to comparatively evaluate the capacities and limitations of the legal mechanisms of Iran and England in criminally responding to this emerging phenomenon.
Methods: The research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach. Data were collected through library-based research, examination of legal doctrine, and analysis of relevant laws and regulations in the two legal systems.
Findings: The findings indicate that sexual offences in the metaverse cannot be regarded merely as an extension of conventional cybercrimes; rather, they involve violations of perceptual integrity, sexual security, privacy, and users’ digital identity within immersive and interactive environments. In Iranian law, despite certain legislative capacities, this field still faces conceptual and normative limitations. By contrast, English law demonstrates greater interpretive and adaptive capacity in addressing this phenomenon, although it likewise lacks explicit statutory recognition of sexual offences in the metaverse.
Conclusion: An effective criminal law response to sexual offences in the metaverse requires a reconsideration of traditional concepts of criminal protection and a simultaneous reconstruction of normative foundations, evidentiary rules, and institutional mechanisms suited to immersive digital ecosystems.
Keywords
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