“If you highly identify with your avatar and are portraying yourself in an authentic manner, you’re going to feel violated,” said Jesse Fox, an Ohio State University professor who researches the social implications of virtual worlds. “It wouldn’t be different if someone sent you a harassing email to your work email or harassed you in a chat room.”
But Fox warns that virtual reality opens the door to a new level of violation.
“What’s different about virtual environments is an extra layer of immersion. If you are being groped in the real world versus a virtual world, the visual stimuli do not differ,” she said. “You are seeing it. It is appearing to happen to your own body. Those layers of lifelike experience are going to be more traumatizing in that moment.”(1)
SurfWatch had an opportunity recently to speak with
Professor Lindal Kidd, Dean of Information, Caledon Oxbridge University. She's considered an in-world expert on this
topic and conducts a class on Saturdays at 10 AM SLT on Avatar Safety at
Caledon Oxbridge University.
SurfWatch (SW): Just briefly, I'm doing a piece on whether
#metoo applies to virtual reality.
Several women here have told me they felt sexually harassed and some
felt they were assaulted. But is that relevant when you can block and teleport
and mute?
Lindal Kidd (LK): The thing is, when you're assaulted,
especially when you are new, you might not remember those options. One time, I was new, and standing on a pose
stand in public, adjusting my jewelry.
Some ugly creature jumped on my back and started humping me, and
whispering obscene comments. I
was...well, terrified. Didn't know what
to do. Eventually I remembered to log off.
but I shook for about half an hour afterwards. These days, I can step back from being "immersed"
and either laugh at such idiots, or go elsewhere. Some griefers bother people long-term. They are harder to deal with. Ban one, and he creates an alt and comes
back. That's more mental harassment than
sexual, but it can ruin your SL.
SW: I have as an example of whether "sexual assault" can be said to exist in SL, a large group where there have been anonymous accusations by more than 1 person of assault by a person in a
position of authority. It was debated that it does not qualify as sexual harassment because there is no real authority
in SL. What are your thoughts?
LK: The authority in
SL is Linden Lab. They will take action,
but only if the Terms of Service, the Community Standards or other LL policies
are violated. They stay out of disputes
between residents unless those policies are violated. So any abuse reports should clearly
demonstrate that. Coming forward via an
Abuse report is safe, though. LL will
not tell them who reported them.
SW: There are also groups with authority - group organizations where the leadership has some
authority.
LK: Only within the
group. A group owner can kick you out of
the group but that is about it.
SW: Yes, but some of
the members in these groups are afraid of that, of being kicked out of the group
for coming forward. So is that legitimate
sexual harassment?
LK: Can you give me
an example of such a group? I'd like to
understand what it is that people would see as being so important to retain
membership in a group where they are made to feel uncomfortable.
SW: For example, let's say an organization that competes for scores and rankings.
LK: I see.
SW: If there were a person in a position of authority making unwanted sexual advances that could impact their membership; maybe scores and rankings.
LK: (nods). Is there an alternative group they could
join?
SW: No.
LK: Seems the
alternatives are stay and put up with it, stay but AR the abuser, leave and
give up that activity, or leave and form a competing group.
SW: Yes. So claims of sexual harassment in this case,
even virtual, are valid?
LK: (nods).
SW: So you think that there are legitimate cases of sexual
harassment in virtuality?
LK: Yes, I do. And
also, virtual worlds can be used to help people with such problems in RL. One of my friends used to run a center in SL
to educate women about abuse and what to do about it.
SW: Thank you so much for clarifying this topic. Much appreciated!
LK: My pleasure.
According to Revealnews.org, "When virtual reality feels real, so does the sexual harassment...One of the earliest instances of avatar defilement is detailed in Julian Dibbell’s 1993 Village Voice article “A Rape in Cyberspace.” Occurring in “LambdaMOO,” a virtual community founded in 1990, a user called Mr. Bungle used the voodoo doll [A voodoo doll program is simply one that allows one user to take control of another user’s character or
program] he obtained to commit virtual rapes of female characters. A decade later, reports of avatar rapes began surfacing after Linden Lab’s virtual world “Second Life” launched in 2003."(2)
"In 2007, the Belgian Federal Police
announced that they would be investigating a ‘virtual rape’ incident that took place in Second
Life back in 2003."(3)
smh.com states, "Sexual assault in virtual reality is real, and it needs to be taken seriously."(4)
One victim of virtual abuse who came forward on her Facebook page and talked about the incident she experienced in a virtual game suffered, "heaping imprecations, slander, and abuse against [the victim]."(5)
However, in a positive way, virtual worlds can be used to create empathy by giving the harasser the opportunity to experience what the victim is experiencing. VR programs are being used to put the harasser in the position of victim. "To be able to even remotely understand, tackle, and spread awareness of such an issue it is necessary to step into a victim’s shoes."(6)
It's a serious topic that will increasingly surface as technology delivers us into more worlds dealing with anonymous "others". SurfWatch is interested in your experiences or opinions. You can contact us by commenting here with your identifying information or you can contact Tauri Tigerpaw in-world.
You can find Professor Kidd Saturdays at 10 AM SLT teaching
Avatar Safety at Caledon Oxbridge University:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Oxbridge/76/141/29.
SurfWatch is always willing to explore this
topic with others and will always provide a safe, confidential environment for
others to express themselves on issues of harassment and abuse.
References:
1. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/26/virtual-reality-sexual-harassment-online-groping-quivr
2. https://www.revealnews.org/article/when-virtual-reality-feels-real-so-does-the-sexual-harassment/
3. https://philpapers.org/archive/DANTLA.pdf
4. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/sexual-assault-and-harassment-in-virtual-reality-is-real-and-it-needs-to-be-taken-seriously-20161027-gsc6vb.html
5.http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/11/sexual_harassment_in_virtual_reality_is_real.html
6. https://sociable.co/technology/how-virtual-reality-used-to-combat-sexual-assault/
For more information and insight, read:
http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle_vv.html (A Rape in Cyberspace)
https://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/innovation/the-legal-hazards-of-virtual-reality-and-augmented-reality-apps
https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/30/499243803/even-in-a-virtual-world-the-harsh-reality-of-sexual-harassment-persists
Search for sexual harassment in a virtual environment
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