#MeToo Virtual Reality?

As defined by Wikipedia, "the Me Too movement is a movement against sexual harassment and assault."  The movement spread rapidly as women shared their experiences of sexual  harassment and assault.  The sheer number of women impacted - 17,700,000 since 1998 per metoomvmt.org - is astounding.

In a virtual world where you can block, mute, teleport and you are represented by an avatar, do these same rules apply?  Is there sexual harassment and assault in a virtual environment?

Oddly enough, my idea to broach this topic came from several men in the virtual surfing community who told me about their friends or girlfriends being harassed and even virtually assaulted.  That raised the question of virtual assault - is this a real thing?  Does it exist in virtual reality? Or is it a misplaced concept in a virtual environment?

SurfWatch is asking the virtual community to share their experiences and opinions.  Let us know, does sexual harassment and assault exist in the virtual world?  Have you experienced it?  Would you be willing to share your story, anonymously or not?  We aren't looking for the names of offenders - we are looking to validate the experiences of female avatars that feel they have experienced virtual sexual harassment and/or virtual assault.  Contact Tauri Tigerpaw at Tauri.Tigerpaw@gmail.com or Tauri Tigerpaw in world and share your story.

SurfWatch will post a follow up and share these responses.

#metoo

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