Sexual Violence Against Women in Video Games: The Effect of Virtual World on the Real World

Abstract

Video games have replaced many traditional childhood pastimes as the leisure activity of choice. A stroll through the halls of a college dormitory demonstrates the strong presence of these games among the youth. Children are spending more time and money on electronic entertainment than ever before. In fact, video game use has steadily increased over the years. Video games are popular social artefacts with the potential to shape the behavior, attitudes and identities of players. Violent video games produce aggressive behavior and emotions. Video graphics are becoming increasingly realistic portrayals of holistic worlds. California state passed a ban on the sale of violent games and sought “to plow new legal ground by equating violent video games with pornography.” However, the Supreme Court of US by a 7-2 majority declared the law unconstitutional but hinted that the court might have ruled differently if there had been legislation banning video games containing sexual violence. The European Women’s Lobby have rightly stated that the games containing sexual violence promote a hostile attitude towards women and girls and promote harmful and discriminatory gender stereotypes. This paper investigates how gender-based violence depicted in the video games influences youngsters. The paper has also made an analysis of the content, development, dynamics and possible effect on young minds based on the video graphic content. The results show that video games, which contain explicit incitement to violence, are widely available on internet for free. As Amnesty International claims, we are in breach of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Hence, states need to take steps to remove such discrimination in all its manifestations.