A study into abuse in online games has found that most female gamers experience harassment while playing, with the majority of victims aged between 18 and 24. 75 percent of younger respondents said they had been abused in online games, with around 50 percent of women of all age groups reporting harassment.
The study also delves into the effects that this abuse has on women, with 25 percent saying that it left them feeling depressed. 27 percent also worry that the abuse will bleed into real life. One in ten even reported feeling suicidal due to the abuse in the gaming scene, showing that bigotry and toxicity in the community are having a significant effect on the mental health of some players.
The research, conducted by Sky, involved 4,000 women who either stream or play online games. One of the respondents spoke in detail about the abuse she's received online, explaining that it ranges from excessive flirting to verbal threats and abuse. 27 percent of the women interviewed even said they were worried that they would be attacked in real life following this abuse.
"The reality is if this was happening on a football pitch, you would have a ref that would like literally blow a whistle and send someone off," says Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports. "We can't keep watching these numbers keep happening and these women keep having this experience. This is all about looking after their mental health and making sure women feel that they can play and do the thing that they love."
Unfortunately, such abuse seems to be accepted as a fact of life. Statistics such as this aren't particularly surprising, with many players, especially women, avoiding using voice chat to try and mitigate the abuse they receive online. However, even having a feminine username can attract unwanted attention.
What is shocking, however, are the details about the mental health effects of online abuse. This appears to be among the first studies conducted into sexism in the gaming community that also discusses the depression that players experience due to the abuse, with some even feeling suicidal.
Developers and publishers are always sharing new moderation tools to try and combat this abuse, although it definitely isn't going anywhere anytime soon. At the very least, games such as Overwatch have started to record team voice chats, moderating them just as they would text chats. It remains to be seen if this is enough to combat sexism in the community - although with multiple gaming companies also being accused of fostering sexist work environments, it seems that there's still a lot of work to do.