Rapelay play software#

“The game begins with a man standing on a subway platform, stalking a girl in a blue sundress. Trigger warning… Leigh Alexander at wrote the following about the game: Perverts on public transportation get their way in a Japanese video game called RapeLay. I’m going to write! I hate subway groping, I hate rape, I hate violence! And I hate video games that portray these horrible acts as something “fun” for players to do. Write also to the Japanese government officials below, calling on them to comply with Japan’s obligations under CEDAW and the Japanese Constitution to eliminate discrimination against women and particularly to ban the sale of computer games such as RapeLay, which normalize and promote sexual violence against women and girls.” Please write a similar letter to Amazon Japan. Suggest that corporations have a responsibility to consider, as good business practice, any negative impact their activities may have on society and the public interest.

Rapelay play software#

“Please write to Illusion Software asking it to withdraw immediately from sale of all games, including RapeLay, which involve rape, stalking or other forms of sexual violence or which otherwise denigrate women. Visit Equality Now’s website for contact info and sample letters you can use: Rather than allowing them to flourish, the Japanese government should be taking effective measures to overcome these attitudes and practices, which hinder women’s equality.” “Japan has an obligation under Article 5(a) of CEDAW ‘to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.’ In addition, Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution guarantees equality under the law and states that there shall be no ‘discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.’ Computer games such as RapeLay condone gender-based discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes, which perpetuate violence against women. At that time, activists were successful in getting the game banned from the US and Ebay, but the game is still easily found elsewhere online, including, apparently, Japan’s .Įquality Now has a new call to action around this horrible video game. But where were they last year when women’s groups and blogs were up in arms over it, or even better, in 2006 when it first came out? I get frustrated by how little or how late or how out of context (ie not addressing the context of misogyny and gender inequality these stories take place in) mainstream news tends to address egregious stories about men’s violence against women, usually taking place in real life, but also, as this story, shows, in virtual life.Ī few months ago I wrote about the Japanese video game RapeLay, which allows players to grope young women on subways and then allows players to escalate their actions to lots of raping. I’m glad CNN is reporting on this issue because it’s a ridiculous, harmful game that should not even exist. I also cover this game in my forthcoming book in the context of the outrageous problem of men groping women and teenage girls on the subway system in Japan. I covered this disgusting game twice last year, including linking to Equality Now’s call to action to write to various groups protesting the game. In the game, players can grope girls on the subway and rape them in various locations.

On the CNN homepage is an article about the horrible Japanese video game RapeLay.