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

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.