25% of the women surveyed reported feeling depressed, 40% reported feeling personally threatened by online abuse. And 27% feared being assaulted in real life as a result of threats made on gaming platforms.
One in ten women feel despondent due to the harassment they experience while gaming.
49% of 4,000 female gamers surveyed by Sky Broadband have experienced abuse or harassment while playing or broadcasting online; this number rises to 75% for those aged 18 to 24.
The levels of harassment are so severe that 25% of women surveyed confessed to feeling depressed, 40% felt personally threatened by the online abuse they’ve encountered, and 27% feared being attacked in real life as a result of threats made on gaming platforms.
Renata Miranda Antelo plays video games daily and is told that the culture is pernicious.
“One of the most annoying things is when people ask you where you live, where you’re from. What your Instagram is, your age, and if you want to visit them in their home countries,” she said.
“What’s your Instagram? What’s your Instagram? Whats your Instagram? And sometimes you don’t want to say anything back, so you simply don’t say anything. This is something I hear a lot from people: “Oh, just mute them or don’t say anything back.”
“However, it continues to escalate to the point where they swear at you and use abusive language. Because they are not receiving the response they desire from you.”
Streamer Steffy Evans posts TikTok recordings of males cursing and threatening her to raise awareness of online misogyny.
She aspires to help others by highlighting women’s gaming issues.
Ms. Evans told, “What I’m doing with all of this is shedding light on it and hyping and boosting women’s confidence to keep playing the game, keep their mics on, and even talk back to these guys.”
If I could take action on a larger scale, it would be to permanently ban them or impose real-world consequences.
“However, there’s only so much I can do, and that’s to shed light on what’s happening in the game and encourage other women to maintain their confidence and speak out.”
Guild, an esports team sponsored by David Beckham that competes online against other teams, is also taking action.
It introduced an immersive campaign to bring attention to the abuse faced by female players.
Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, stated, “If this were occurring on a football pitch, a referee would blow a whistle and send someone off the pitch.”
“We cannot continue to observe these numbers and these women having this experience.”
This is all about taking care of their mental health and ensuring that women can play and do the things they love while feeling very included in it.
The gaming industry is expected to be worth over £279 billion by 2026.
The sector appears to be developing slowly, and considerable change is needed to stop being a man’s world.
