Blatant sexism and harassment is not a new thing in the world of multiplayer video games. In the past, we have often seen reports of female gamers being harassed online or prominent esports personalities raising their voice against the existent sexism in the video game community.
While video game companies have started taking measures against any form of harassment in multiplayer video games, the problem with cyberbullying seems to be far from over.
According to a recent Reach3 Insights report, in collaboration with Lenovo, as much as 59 percent of female gamers have hidden their gender while playing online video games over harassment concerns.
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Here are some of the other key findings in the report:
- 88 percent of female gamers surveyed play competitive games
- 75 percent claimed that they play action/survival games while 66 percent play shooters.
- 59 percent of females surveyed conceal their genders (or play as other genders) when playing online games
- 77 percent female gamers reported encountering some form of unwanted behavior while gaming
- 70 percent have reported to being questioned about their in-game skills
- 65% have reported falling victim to gatekeeping
- Another 50% have reported that they are treated differently because of their genders
- 44 percent of the surveyed female gamers claimed to have received unsolicited relationship requests while gaming
These findings are certain to shock the video game community, and players across the world will undoubtedly be hoping for the developers to take more drastic measures to tackle in-game harassment.
Source: PCGAMER
