Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.
A mention of only a handful of cyberbullying related to sexual harassment and assault that I have received this year while playing a video game on Steam.
WARNING: This article contains sensitive content and may be found offensive or triggering to some people. These photos are real screenshots of mine by people cyberbullying me on the internet during gaming encounters. This is intended for educational purposes to help victims and their loved ones to recognize signs of Cyberbullying, Harassment, Sex Trafficking, and/or Rape. Very graphic details may include explanations from my personal experiences and others. If for any reason you are not ready to see details of abuse, feel free to move on and come back when you are ready. It is also recommended that you view this with a friend or family member for emotional support.
Image by Maria from Pixabay.
We all know how people may feel tougher once they go behind a computer screen tucked away inside of their rooms with the doors closed and far away from other people. Well, it is an assumption, but it's also a rhetorical question because you do get the same answer...yes, we do. People start mentioning nonsense, start misbehaving more because they feel like they will get away with it more, and will bully to no end because they've become unattached to reality believing that there are no consequences for their actions when there are. This is cyberbullying behavior. It's like bullying in person that you see at school, work, or any other place. The only difference is that people are typing these words on a keyboard on technological devices or speaking through virtual chat rooms.
This is the direct approach of bullying. The indirect approach is spreading false information, or rumors, about another person using the internet to other people. This can be done with the use of online advertisements and forum posts. While gaming online, girls and women are more vulnerable to cyberbullying attacks. It happens much more frequently and by larger quantities of people regardless of the gender, but mostly by males.
From my personal experiences of being a gamer online, I've lost count many years ago of the average amount of cyberbullying comments that are sexist against women and sexually based. There's very little respect for women as it is. When you put up a monitor and keyboard in between a conversation, it gets nastier with how far they will go with the comments. Conversations start off friendly and passive then leading to extreme requests that are layered with blackmail and threats. Below are some examples of passive versions of cyberbullying as people change their usernames on their accounts on a game I play. The name of the game is irrelevant in this article because this is controlled by the players and there is a reporting function available. The change name option is available across many social media, gaming, and chat platforms. So if you're a frequent internet surfer, you're probably already familiar with this version of cyberbullying.
Following a Rapist Sex Trafficker
This is a constant insult that I keep being referred to as even though I am not a porn star nor have I ever consented to being featured in any porn video. As of this year that I know of so far as I keep researching, I have been trafficked online for at least 18 years. I thought that it had started with a rapist who happened to record raping me on video while he was actively drugging me by forcing me to drink wine, but it was before that. However, the online bullying through gaming in an MMORPG made me realize that I had a lot of stalkers with people sexually harassing me. It ended up getting worse as I was blackmailed into having cybersex with them as they threatened my marriage and also trying to steal me away from my husband at the time. As it is currently the beginning of the year 2023, people are still following the trend of calling me names in regards to the violent rape that's been featured online even though I am innocent.
2. Sexually Degrading
Puns were used as a play-on words to not have their names flagged as sexual in game. But if you do read these names out loud, it is obvious what they are in reference to especially with the following words after them. These names are used against women and sometimes men.
3. Viral Hard Friction
While I was held hostage alone during a week long rape encounter in my apartment many years ago, a queef occurred while being sexually assaulted violently. Over the years, I did not know that I was recorded on video and being circulated online because I do not use the dark web where most illegal content is posted worldwide. Strangers would say this word more around me and I was used as the center of jokes online by large groups of males during gaming experiences. This is when I became more suspicious until people were telling me straight that they had seen me online in BDSM sex, which is untrue. I have never had BDSM sex nor was it a consensual experience for me. It was rape. This has been circulating online over a time span of almost two decades now.
4. Sex Trafficking Reference
As referenced in another article that I have written called Branding in the World of Human Trafficking, you will see that bar codes are a common tattoo used to enslave people for Sex Trafficking by being placed anywhere on the body. The same technique is used with a pun, but with an extra symbol so it's not flagged during the creation of a username in game. In this case, it's an underscore symbol. But if you do read the whole name together, it will sound out as, "Bend over barcode." This also hints to a barcode tattoo being placed on the anus or in reference to a specified request in a sex trafficking transaction.
5. Nicknamed by a Rapist
This also displays at least a couple of examples used to be sexually degrading referencing my rape encounter. While it is passive being inserted into usernames, it's still very direct as it quotes the nickname "BB" that was given to me by my rapist from the same hostage experience that's on the internet. This nickname was given to me because it's a shorter version of my gaming name that I had, which was "Badbish". I named my Warrior character as a "badass" to kick guys' butts in player versus player mode since I love fighting games in 2006. My username was sexualized into something so spun out of control that I've been encountering all forms of sexual violence over the years since 2007.
If you're experiencing cyberbullying, be sure to tell someone about it before it gets out of hand. The earlier it gets caught, the more likely of a chance you may have of stopping it. Of course, this outcome may depend on the situation. If you are unsure of where to start with reporting, there are more gaming platforms that have their own reporting systems in which you can elaborate within the comment box with specifics on what names are being used to insult you or offensive phrased being used that the game developers need to be aware of. Some are simple to find, while other games may be difficult because they utilize a third party platform to report. Some games with multiple routes of communication may designate a specific spot. Checking on the Google Search Engine can help filter this down. But I won't lie. The ones that I've had to search for that gave me a hard time took me a lot longer to figure out. This is also due to not knowing a lot about technology as well. Whenever I wasn't able to figure out how to report a cyberbullying incident, I've written an email directly to the gaming company. This doesn't guarantee a response from them nor a result, but at least you gain the satisfaction of trying to do something about it in hopes to end it.
Here are some reminders to take with you:
Please #becareful and try to #besafe.
#SlaveryandHumanTraffickingPreventionMonth #rape #sexualassault #sexualviolence #abuse #humantrafficking #labortrafficking #sextrafficking #drugtrafficking #victim #survivor #help #resource #danger #facts #EndRape #notaskingforit #EndDomesticAbuse #stillnotaskingforit #UnseenFortitude #empowerment #blog #KnowTheTruth
This information was gathered from my friends, family, and my life experiences combined.
Inspired by my TRUE story.
This article is written by:
Andrelyn Izquierdo
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