Wonder Women Tech's First In-Game Police Station Supports Real Complaints

After countless surveys have shown the degree of hostility faced by women in the gaming world, Wonder Women Tech (WWT), an NGO and global ecosystem dedicated to incentivising and contributing toward female inclusion in the tech world, presents the first e-police station created for women to file real complaints straight from the game. From now on, players will find a new beta tool in GTA RP that will support them by making it easier to access official police platforms for filing electronic incident reports about incidents of harassment, threats, and other forms of violence. 

In 2023, Sky Broadband, one of the largest internet providers in the UK, surveyed users and found that 49% of female gamers had been harassed while playing or doing gaming-related live streams, and that 27% feared for their lives at one point. Another alarming statistic is that one in ten women surveyed had suicidal thoughts after being targeted by online violence.  

"The voices of female gamers have been drowned out by harassment and violence, and Wonder Women Tech answers the call for change. Launching an e-police station is not just an innovation; it's a declaration that the era of silence and fear is over. We deserve to feel safe," says Lisa Mae Brunson, founder of Wonder Women Tech.

“This tool is more than a feature - it's a shield, a statement, and a step forward. It embodies our commitment to transforming the gaming world into a space of safety, respect, and equality. Together, we're not just playing games; we're setting new rules, demanding accountability, and creating an inclusive community where every gamer, regardless of gender, can thrive. The game is changing, and we are the changemakers", she completes.

‘E-Police Station’: From video games to the real world

For the past few years, GTA RP has included police stations as part of the game's plot. In a mod to the game's open-source code, in partnership with a server, the map will now include an ‘E-Police Station,' a virtual police station identical to its real-world counterpart, set up specifically to address crimes against women. When players are harassed or witness violent interactions, they are encouraged to capture and save evidence on the platform. Then their avatar can head over to the virtual station, where they'll be guided through the process of filing an official police report, all without having to leave the game. The complaint, once submitted, will be duly investigated by the authorities.

"While women drop out of gaming and even think of taking their own lives, harassers have long gone unpunished. The e-Police Station is a simple modification to the game with the promise to change that dynamic by making it easier to file official complaints, all without leaving the game. Since the mod is open-source, it can be implemented elsewhere by whoever feels the need for it in another space. The attacks are individual, but the fight is all of ours," says Deborah Vasques, creative director at AlmapBBDO."

The idea of placing a women's e-police station inside the game was born out of the urgent need to hold aggressors responsible, who normally feel like the internet is a no-man's land. Players banned for harassment, for example, often just create new usernames and keep on attacking others. 

Lisa Mae Brunson observes that many victims never report their aggressors precisely because of that prevailing impunity. Now, with this new tool, any player who finds herself under attack will be able to document the incident and file a report without leaving gameplay, supported in their attempts to curb violence, while offenders will be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law – both onscreen and off.

Cyber-activism on the rise among women

A number of non-profits and companies have found cyber-activism a powerful tool to strike against harassers' impunity online. Lisa believes that turning spaces of aggression into arenas for mobilisation and re-education, where actions have consequences, has been an increasingly effective avenue for women to bring about change.

"This is a turning point, a moment when we say 'enough' and unite to protect the joy, creativity, and community that gaming brings to our lives. Our message is clear: we are watching, we are acting, and we are changing the game for women everywhere." says Lisa.

Brazil leading the pack in protecting female gamers

According to the annual survey Pesquisa Game Brasil (2022), Brazil has the fourth-most gamers in Latin America, 51.5% of whom are women – a decisive factor in choosing the country to pilot this project.  

In addition to the sheer number of female gamers online, another point affecting the decision was alarming statistics about violence against women. A survey last year by the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP) found 50,000 victims of harassment per day, the equivalent of a packed football stadium. At the same time, Brazil was the first nation in Latin America to implement women’s only police stations, which were created in 1985 and have since spread across the country through state-by-state legislation.

The NGO is still weighing the possibility of expanding the tool to other games and more countries in the medium term. And to help the change spread from server to server, the code for the mod is freely available on the project's official website e-policestation.com.

Since this pilot stage was focused on Brazil, a country with a network of police stations dedicated to addressing violence against women, users of other nationalities will have to alter the programming to redirect the complaint-filing mechanism to the appropriate authority in their own country.