Carlotta Rigotti and Gianclaudio Malgieri on sexual violence and harassment in the metaverse
On 24 April 2024, Carlotta Rigotti and Gianclaudio presented their new report on sexual violence and harassment in the metaverse during a webinar co-organised by AUDRi, Equality Now, and VULNERA.
Carlotta Rigotti and Gianclaudio Malgieri presented their new report on sexual violence and harassment in the metaverse during a webinar co-organised by the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights, Equality Now, and VULNERA. This event marked the culmination of a year-long collaboration amongst these organisations.
The report delves into the evolution of the internet, once seen as a space of equality and empowerment, but later recognised as a facilitator of gender-based violence, including image-based abuse and cyber harassment. With the emergence of the metaverse, the focus has shifted to escalating concerns about sexual violence and harassment targeting female-presenting avatars. Carlotta and Gianclaudio shed light on the unique challenges posed by the metaverse, exploring its conceptualisation and the failure of current mitigation measures. They emphasised the necessity of legal and policy interventions to address these pressing issues.
The report, available as open access, can be accessed here.