Behind the screen: sexual harassment haunts the Philippine esports scene

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine esports community has expressed support for female gamers, promoting a safe gaming environment for all.

This amid the recent post from pro gamer and streamer Em Dangla, professionally known as ‘Kaisaya’.

On September 26, Dangla shared her own experience fighting sexual harassment that she claimed to have suffered at the game scene on a lengthy Facebook page.

In 2019, Dangla filed a case against professional streamer Zeus Torquator, who shared a private video of Dangla. The case was dropped when Shin Ponferrada, another broadcaster, refused to testify.

“I told myself that I should stay strong and think on the bright side. Maybe at least not sending them to jail and not revealing this story will allow them to live a good life with their family and continue their careers,” Dangla said in his post, referring to the long after his case was dropped.

“I let my empathy grow stronger regardless of the bad things they did to me. And that empathy is what has also kept me from speaking for the past 2 years. Personally, I am not mad at them. I am mad at the actions that Lo I’ve done it. I’m angry that justice was not served when we could have done something about it! “

The incident is the recent war of words between Torquator and Ponferrada that prompted Dangla to speak.

In a public post on social media, both Torquator and Ponferrada attacked each other until Ponferrada made a public comment that read: “I remember refusing to testify against you, dahil tropa pa rin ako despite ng nangyari.”

Dangla condemned using the incident and bringing it to light now that way, not to defend Torquator.

Dangla stated that she had been keeping quiet about the incident for the past two years so that everyone could move on, as they were still working on the game scene together.

But Ponferrada publicly refers to the incident as a kind of blow to Torquator.

“One mistake cannot be fixed with another mistake,” Dangla said.

“Should I have spoken earlier? I don’t know. I recently had the courage. This mental torture and injustice was already too much for me. At the same time, I feel that I must stand up and speak. On behalf of those who were also oppressed and silenced because they are afraid of dahil sikat yung oppressor nila or the people who hurt them. “

Sexual harassment has been a constant theme not only on the global video game scene, but also locally.

On an episode of Eat Bulaga’s “Bawal Judgmental” that aired on July 21 on GMA 7, one contestant, Chantelle, expressed her own experience about being a player in a male-dominated arena.

Chantelle, who had initially been a professional gamer, having won tournaments for Mobile Legends, resorted to yelling / hosting / commenting during games due to bias in dealing between players and players.

Chantelle also shared her experience while broadcasting, how she received harassment online, comments about her broadcasts that had sexual content.

“I give you respect, I hope that we as players or even pitchers think the same,” Chantelle said during the episode.

With the rise of esports given the pandemic and more women attempting to play on their own, the all-female group Gamer Girls Philippines (GGP), a community whose primary goal is to provide a safe space for female gamers, has gained popularity, reaching 1,000. members after a month, showing that the popularity of games is not only for men, but also for women.

“The idea that videogames is a man’s thing, and because of this, girls don’t even have the idea to try or be interested in games.” said co-founder Abby Lampa.

“Or they’re afraid to speak up,” added co-founder Courtney Sayson.

This mindset has been evident with Dangla’s recent post, as well as Chantelle’s own experience in the gaming community.

Since the publication of Dangla on September 26, different teams, organizations, leagues and other professional esports players have expressed their support for the female players and have condemned sexual harassment or any rebellious behavior in the field of games.

Ponferrada has stated in a Facebook post how he will not deny what Dangla had posted.

“I have no intention of blackmailing Zeus, but I am really disappointed in him as a professional and recently as a friend. I am not angry with Em nor will I deny his accusation and the judgment of others. It was a misjudgment about me some years ago” .

Torquator had also taken to Facebook to post his apology. “For all the people I have hurt, this message is for all the times I should have said something before, for all the times I should have done nothing at all, but most importantly, it is for all the times I should have said sorry. “

Torquator also announced his decision to leave the eSports community. “As much as I want to ask for another chance and show that my falls do not reflect my character as a whole, after considering hateful comments that affect not only me but the people I love the most mentally and emotionally, I made an important decision. for me and for the people I love. “

This comes after the gaming company that employs Torquator, Luponwxc, announced on its Facebook page the indefinite suspension of Torquator.

After sharing her experience, Dangla urged everyone to have the courage to speak up about their own experiences of sexual harassment in the esports community.

“Regardless of what your gender identity or sexuality is, now is the time to be brave.”