Video Games and Gender-based Violence

Abstract

Gender-based violence is violence perpetrated against women, which is primarily or exclusively motivated by their sex, and includes both intimate partner abuse and physical or sexual assault by strangers. The aim of the present research was to investigate whether gender-based violence is depicted in the world of video games and whether video games contribute to the socialisation of young people in this regard. The methodology employed went beyond the administration of questionnaires to ascertain the perceptions of those who use video games or an analysis of the associated advertising, the habitual research strategies in this field. Rather, an analysis was conducted of the videogames themselves, examining their contents, dynamics and development, and the possibilities that they offer, etc., based on a “videographic analysis” of the variables explored. The results show that video games, which contain explicit incitements to violence, are widely available on the Internet, from the “anime”, with various subgenres such as eroge and hentai, to the famous GTA, one of the best-selling video games worldwide, which contains a clear incitement to violence in the sense defined by the Comprehensive Law against Gender-Based Violence. The conclusion drawn from this research leads us to ask whether, as Amnesty International claims, we are in breach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which requires States to take steps to remove such discrimination in all its manifestations.