CRASH OVERRIDE
Crash Override is an organization set up by independent game developer Zoe Quinn, to assist victims of online harassment. Quinn, a creator of unconventional games, has long been a central focus for abuse, and was a central target for GamerGate.
We asked her for "minimum expectations" of what employers should be doing to protect their employees. Here is part of her reply:
"At a minimum, employers need to be aware of the possibility, and get educated on the specific ways online abuse manifests above and beyond harassment, and can take the form of stalking, smear campaigns, doxing, hacking, and swatting.
"Companies need to take a real stance against the abuse happening in our industry, because communication between employees and employers is important. Employees need to know that they can talk to employers about their situation without fear of being fired for being too much of a risk, just because multimillion dollar companies might be worried about anime avatars yelling at them on Twitter.
"Companies have many more resources than individuals, and offshoring all the risk and responsibility of dealing with abuse to the people who are targeted by it is cowardice, full-stop. We need more than toothless 'we think harassment is bad' statements to achieve this. The industry in general needs to work on its working conditions, and to invest back in the people who make it what it is instead of treating passionate, hard-working people as disposable.
"They also need to know that although it can happen to anyone, marginalized people are disproportionately targeted for abuse. Any company that is making a commitment to diversity needs to plan beyond just hiring more marginalized people, and prepare to support them beyond the hiring process. "
