CAH Survey of Online Gaming Finds Frequent Misogyny, Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate, and Racial Harassment

As part of its working group on hate in esports and online gaming, CAH researchers completed a survey of gamers at the local 2023 Tekko anime convention. Over 150 participants shared their experiences with hate and harassment in online gaming in a 5-minute survey. 23% of respondents reported seeing hate directed at women almost every game, while anti-LGBTQ+ people and racial harassment were also commonly mentioned. Participants frequently mentioned experiencing slurs and derogatory language in gaming environments, often in gaming voice chat. Privacy issues are also important when it comes to recording games for interventions; a majority of survey participants were comfortable with voice chat being recorded for reporting hate and harassment.