A man was horrified after discovering his ex posted false information about him in a private Facebook group designed to keep women safe from dangerous men.
The woman, who had a restraining order against her, made the false accusations against her ex-partner on the Facebook page ‘Sis Is This Your Man?’.
The group was created to warn women about potentially dangerous men who harm other women as a solution to the lack of safety on dating sites.
The page’s administrator, known simply as Maro Kovo, said the page had previously been targeted by people seeking revenge on a former partner.
“There was a guy whose ex-partner was posting about him on various social media sites. She posted it in our group and asked if anyone had any information about him,” Kovo said.
‘She jumped into the comments section and accused him of a bunch of things.’
“He saw my name and contacted me. He showed me that he had a restraining order for domestic violence against the woman.”
Ms Kovo said she asked for proof of the allegations if the woman wanted the comment to remain on the page.
An Australian man was left shocked after his ex made false accusations against him in a Facebook group set up to warn women about dangerous and violent men (file image)
“We helped him remove posts in all groups. It’s not a man-hating page, as some people think.”
Ms. Kovo said administrators do everything they can to try to ensure that the group, which is Used by over 16,000 women across Australia, It is not used for revenge.
‘Each post must be reviewed and verified by the management team first to reduce the possibility of revenge posts.’
Ms Kovo said several men had contacted them (the group’s administrators) because false information had been posted about them.
The risk of defamation by people publishing false information or of damage to a person’s reputation is significant.
The page administrators They work with lawyers to help them navigate legal risks and avoid being sued, but there are “fake” sites that don’t.
“We have friends who are lawyers who help us if we have questions and we try to run the group as legitimately as possible,” he said.
‘Our team is made up of psychology researchers, counsellors, domestic and family violence support workers and qualified nurses.’
One of the Facebook group’s administrators said the page has been targeted by users seeking revenge on a person from a previous relationship (file image)
Having worked with victims of family and domestic violence, Ms Kovo knows all too well the horrors some women face every day.
Figures from Our Watch, a leading domestic violence organisation, show that two in five women in Australia have experienced violence since the age of 15.
On average, a woman is murdered by her current or former partner every nine days in Australia.
Thousands of social media groups have sprung up across Australia to warn women about potentially dangerous men.
Convicted perpetrators, criminals and paedophiles can join popular dating apps and connect with women who have no idea about their previous convictions.
“That’s why these groups exist, so we can help protect each other as much as possible,” Kovo said.
Ms Kovo spoke about an incident where a man on Tinder was a convicted paedophile and his potential match asked if anyone had any information on him.
Another person posted a link to a newspaper article that identified the man and his crimes, much to the horror of the woman he was dating, who had children.
“All of these dating sites offer no protection to women, and women are desperate to protect themselves,” Kovo said.
Thousands of social media groups have sprung up across Australia to warn women about potentially dangerous men (file image)
Ms. Kovo has seen the horrific realities some women have experienced.
Many women have sent “disturbing material” about sexual assault, animal abuse, physical abuse and psychological abuse.
“This is how we confirm what to publish and what not to publish,” Kovo said.
“It’s not something you can do if you don’t have experience, because it can be difficult. Even though I work with it every day, it affects you.”