French outlet 20 Minutes released today a lengthy paper on the state video game industry regarding sexism and sexual misbehavior, especially since the recents cases un the USA. I thought it was important enough to share. Beware, it is a French papers that I first Google Translated then fixed / tuned to be good enough to read for an English audience. Do not hesitate to report to me some weird / complex / non sensical parts.
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Sexism, harassment, aggression ... Why such an omerta in the French video game industry?
"I wrote a post that you should read calling out my r*pist." The testimony of Nathalie Lawhead, an American independent game designer shook the video game industry. The young woman told she was raped by a big name of the video game industry. Very quickly, tongues untied and about twenty other women spoke about having been abused or harassed sexually, denouncing publicly their aggressors. In France, where the video game industry counts nearly 5,000 employees and made nearly 4.3 billion euros, this liberation of speech across the Atlantic almost went unnoticed.
"The recent revelations mainly concern the USA, but according to our knowledge and testimonies we have collected, these problems are very present in France," says the French Union of Video Game Workers STJV. "What has been unveiled on social medias is a mirror of what is actually happening here" confirms Sonia, a young screenwriter employed in a Parisian video game studio. But why has no harassment case been made public? Why is the #MeToo movement so hard to impose in the French video game industry?
"Most of the time, these stories are simply denied and swept under the carpet." The Omerta remains particularly strong today in France. The Gamergate, the #MeToo movement or more recently the "Ligue du LOL" affair failed to free the speech. "When testimonials began to multiply on Twitter in late August, we opened our DM to encourage women in France to testify" said Audrey Leprince, president of the association Women in Games, which works to promote more social diversity in the industry. But very few victims came forward. "The low proportion of women in the studios, crunch culture, the industry's self-esteem and the ensuing cult of secrecy all contribute to repress victims' possibilities for actions" says the STJV.
According to testimonies collected by 20 Minutes, speaking publicly or filling a claim exposes the victims to retaliation and professional risks. "Very few women dare to address the subject publicly. So we talk about it between us, and that's where we understand this kind of thing happens to a lot of people" says Zoe. "Most of the time, these facts are simply denied and ignored. At the best of times, studios will claim to be inclusive, make public statements, but without concrete measures to follow, and will continue to protect the predators who keep being promoted, most often in high positions" confirms the STJV.
Some victims dared to speak publicly, but there are a handful. Among them, Fanny, a young woman now in her thirties. She left the video game business three years ago, tired of continually having sexist remarks and sexual touching. She decided to give up everything after an aggression by one of her colleagues. "At a party between workmates, one of my male colleagues suddenly put his hand ito my pants. Nobody reacted, as if it was normal. I was shocked, but I did not want to make a scene, even I downplayed what had happened," says Fanny with a trembling voice. "The next week, I decided to go see the CEO to talk to him about what happened. He told me, in a completely detached way "it's your words against his.""
Testimonies like Fanny's, we have collected several. Like this representative of a video game publisher who slips his hand on the thigh of a collaborator during a trade show, this studio boss who invents meetings and work lunches just to be alone with his intern. Or this manager who makes advances to an employee during a job interview, ... Rape jokes, sexist remarks, pornographic files exchanged by e-mail or degrading photoshops are also commonplace. "Every time I leave and come back to my post, my web page is open on a porn video. It's so degrading" says a young just-hired developer.
In the absence of being able to testify publicly, several women decided to create support groups. "We've been only starting to talk about it for a year. Some have had the idea to set up speaking groups" explains Sonia, who today is looking to leave her company because of the toxic environment. "It's a secret place we want to keep safe. It is our only space of speech, a place where we feel listened to" adds Zoé. "Many women came together to help each other, mainly in big companies" confirms Audrey Leprince, who recalls that the video game industry in France counts 84% men.
To protect themselves, some women also took the initiative to create a list of sexual predators. "We exchange names when we meet at events. Since a few months, a list circulates, on which are registered names of several predators. There are more than a dozen, maybe twenty now. These are only toxic or very dangerous people" says Sonia, who says she added a name very recently. Others, on the contrary, would like to make a list of safe companies, where the fight against sexist behavior is a priority says Audrey Leprince of the association Women in Games.
Among the testimonials that 20 Minutes has collected, two names came up very often, those of two men are working at Quantic Dream. "One of them is known as the white wolf in the profession. Everyone knows he is a huge predator" said several of the women interviewed. Already questioned for dubious managerial practices, the French studio is now targeted by suspicions of sexual harassment, or even sexual assault. "We were contacted last May by several women, working and having worked in that company, who told us about very serious incidents" said a member of the video games section of the union "Solidaires Informatique". "The reported facts are extremely serious offenses, punishable by law. Yet they seem repeat with impunity at Quantic Dream, and for several years now, because of a strong omerta" adds the union, who recently issued a call for evidence, with the international organization Game Workers Unite (GWU), to try to bring the case to justice.
Contacted by phone this Friday, Quantic Dream did not respond to our requests. Last May, the studio reacted to these accusations via an official statement, stating "taking harassment situations very seriously", and "not being informed of this type of case in our company".
Today, things seem to be moving a bit. "The fact that these cases are becoming more and more reported is causing mentalities to change" says Zoé, who is campaigning for a real liberation of speech. "It will take a little more time, but we too in France will have our #MeToo moment" Sonia hopes. Meanwhile, initiatives to help the victims multiply. The association Women in Games, which has already set up a support platform, will soon launch a training on "How to react to sexist remarks in companies"...
* The names of the women who testified in this survey were changed at their request for fear of reprisals from their superiors.
** Asked by 20 Minutes, the "Syndicat des editors de loisirs" (Sell) did not wish to comment, indicating only that "Regarding the French territory, it was the law that prevailed in this type business". Contacted several times, the National Union of Video Game (SNJV), the other large union publishers, has meanwhile not responded to our requests.
