Technology

Women in Games CEO warns “we are going backwards as an industry”

Women in Games CEO Marie-Claire Isaaman has launched an announcement asking if the video games trade is “going backwards” following reviews that “multiple folks” have been assaulted or spiked at this yr’s GDC occasion.

In a public statement, Isaaman mirrored on employment stats and revealed that while “both male and female gamers experienced similarly high levels of toxicity, showing that toxicity is an issue across the entire gaming community”, “the experience that girls and women encounter are often much darker and threatening”.

“Sexist stereotypes and being aggressively quizzed about their gaming skills often lead to more violent verbal abuse and threats of rape,” Isaaman says. “Even extra disturbingly, the abuse doesn’t all the time cease as soon as gamers go away the sport – some situations manifest into critical penalties exterior of gaming, together with stalking on different platforms and threats of this transferring into actual life.

“We are going backwards as an industry! None of this is okay, none of this should be happening!”

Isaaman lists a handful of examples to proof her claims, together with reviews that drinks have been spiked, and ladies have been “belittled and undermined”, “hit on relentlessly”, and “harassed on the show floor”. She additionally cited a current story that emerged from GDC 2023 stating that “two women were lured to a hotel room for a pitch and then assaulted”.

Isaaman provides that while some individuals recommend that the Women In Games organisation is not “relevant today”, the corporate’s work will solely “be done once “a lady at a world video games convention doesn’t have to wonder if she will probably be secure when she has a enterprise assembly, alone, with a person” (thanks, TheGamer).

In response to the current claims, a consultant for GDC advised the press on the time that it was “very upset to hear that some people, especially women, reported concerning experiences during the GDC week at off-site events, including assault and drink spiking. This is outrageous and unacceptable; everyone has a right to feel safe”.

“We severely condemn any such behaviour and support the victims; we encourage reporting to the police and hope the perpetrators will be found,” the assertion added.



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