Virtual Harassment: VR Groping Happened to Female Gamer

MotweraGamingLeave a Comment

VR is a platform I hold much respect for despite having a little experience with it. I feel it’s uses for education is massive and hope that it progresses far enough to the point where it can be common in the classroom. But I also see it’s purposes for gaming quite clearly too; it holds much promise in immersing the gamer into a number of different worlds and with motion controls being used for VR, that makes the experience all the more real.
Sadly, this opens the door to some harassment, which happened to the writer of this article.

In between a wave of zombies and demons to shoot down, I was hanging out next to BigBro442, waiting for our next attack. Suddenly, BigBro442’s disembodied helmet faced me dead-on. His floating hand approached my body, and he started to virtually rub my chest. “Stop!” I cried. I must have laughed from the embarrassment and the ridiculousness of the situation. Women, after all, are supposed to be cool, and take any form of sexual harassment with a laugh. But I still told him to stop.

This goaded him on, and even when I turned away from him, he chased me around, making grabbing and pinching motions near my chest. Emboldened, he even shoved his hand toward my virtual crotch and began rubbing. There I was, being virtually groped in a snowy fortress with my brother-in-law and husband watching.

This is horrific, as due to how immersive VR gaming can be, it makes this experience feel all the more real. Some VR games have been having situations like this in mind during development (like safety aura where people can enter your space) but more warnings and accommodations are needed for VR based on the above situation.

Source: Mic.com

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