Stalking, rape threats and sexual harassment - female gamers open up about online abuse

Video report by Lucille Brobbey

A gamer and content creator has opened up about the racist abuse and rape threats she receives when gaming online.

Saskia Cole from Peterborough said the abuse extends across multiple platforms.

She said: "I've had rape threats, I've had people tell me that they're going to find my IP address and rape me, my mum and my family.

"It's unwarranted and it's quite a lot to take to be honest."

Saskia said she has had conversations with friends about it, who said they will not play the same video games because they "would not be able to stand for the racial abuse that they've seen me have".

She continued: "I can sit here and say that being told to get back in the kitchen might seem comical but when it is every single lobby, it is just annoying and there is no need for it."

Sunpi is a gaming YouTuber with over 120,000 subscribers and nearly 40,000 followers on the popular streaming website Twitch.

The 29-year-old said she has been stalked and receives "sexually abusive comments" regularly.

She said: "I feel like there's not a day that goes by that there's not someone saying something horrible to me.

"Whether that's a sexually abusive comment or a threatening comment.

"I had a follower that actually came to where I live which is a really small town and was annoyed at me for not going to meet him that day when he got there.

"It makes you paranoid and anxious."

Chatting with others is an important part of multiplayer games, but increasingly that chat is turning offensive - especially towards women.

Experiences like this are becoming more common, according to researchers. 

A study by Bryter revealed that 71% of women said they had experienced discrimination and abuse while gaming, with 36% of women saying it happens regularly.

Jenny McBean, Insights Director at Bryter said: "Verbal abuse is the most common and again that comes in such an array of forms.

"Sometimes including threats of rape as well. Typical comments like ‘I’m going to find out where you live', break in and either violently attack or sexually attack you or other family members.

"So it can be very dark and I think the problem is that a lot of the gamers who direct this toxic behaviour, they don’t really know the implications."

One organisation promoting diversity and inclusion in gaming is British Esports (BE) - the UK’s national body for competitive gaming.

Women in Esports is an initiative launched by BE in 2019.

Manager of Women in Esports, Billie Purdie, said: “Many women are just told to mute their mic in a game and that’s not always the answer, that shouldn’t be the answer.

"A lot of these games are team based games, I need to have that open communication from my team in order to play the game.

"Of course you’ve got the tick the report button, but again, that’s an area which needs to be improved on, which is where a lot of these gaming publishers need to be held a bit more accountable."

Sunpi hopes there will come a time where picking up a controller doesn't lead to harassment or hate.

"It sounds really cheesy but it would just be a peaceful gaming space with no toxicity," she said.

"I feel like we're quite far from that, but with more people spreading awareness like this we can definitely get there."