About Us
The Games and Online Harassment Hotline offered real-time, text-message-based emotional support and digital safety guidance for people who make or play games, as well as anyone facing online harassment. For over three years, we offered emotional support and basic digital safety guidance to people experiencing online harassment (in video games, on social media, or through online communities), workplace hostility or abuse in the games industry, sexual violence and stalking, digital blackmail and sextortion, interpersonal conflicts and fallouts, and more.
Our Story
Established by Anita Sarkeesian in 2019, the Games and Online Harassment Hotline emerged in the wake of the gaming industry’s first #MeToo wave, when brave survivors shared their experiences of harassment and abuse. Sarkeesian teamed up with Christoper Vu Gandin Le and Jae Lin to design the Games Hotline in 2020, launching officially on August 3rd of that year. Lin would go on to serve as the Hotline Director until the Hotline ceased operation in October 2023.
As a hotline founded and led by people directly impacted by online harassment and abuse in games spaces, we drew on a wealth of deep wisdom from our networks and communities of survivors and targets who had experienced varying degrees of hostility, threats, harassment campaigns, stalking, and violence both online and offline. From the beginning, we infused the work of the Games Hotline with our principles and beliefs around social justice and systems of oppression, abolition of police and prisons, and trauma-informed care.
Users shared with us over the years that texting with us provided them with hope, gave them tangible resources and next steps, showed soothing compassion and validation, and just offered a space to talk things out and detangle all of the feelings and circumstances that had been roiling all around them.
With the decision to close Feminist Frequency, the Games Hotline shut its doors as well, since the Hotline’s infrastructure, funding, and staffing relied so heavily on the parent organization. We considered some other organizations to house the Games Hotline, but ultimately none were able to both provide the resources needed and align tightly with the values we have so thoroughly infused in the work. We are sad that some of our goals and dreams for the Games Hotline will remain unfulfilled, but we also know that the help we offered to all the people who reached out to us really mattered, and we feel so lucky to have been able to do it.
We believe the Games Hotline had further cultural impacts in cultivating hope for a healthier and kinder games community, modeling compassionate care and non-judgemental acceptance, and interrupting cycles of abuse and shame. We know that the seeds we’ve planted will outlive the Games Hotline and sprout in unexpected and hopeful ways.
Timeline
- September 2019 Anita begins building the team & vision
- February 2020 Hotline pilot week
- April 2020 Started Good Tips for Hard Times weekly show
- August 2020 Official Hotline Launch: Open 4-7pm PT Mon-Fri
- May 2021 Hours Expanded: Open 3-7pm PT Everyday
- March 2022 GDC Talk: A Hotline for the Games Industry
- April 2022 Started Accountability Support Group & Joined the Coalition Against Online Violence
- August 2022 Started offering online safety workshops with Tall Poppy
- March 2023 Ran the Hotline during all hours of PAX East & Launched the Culture Shift Help Desk
- May 2023 Presented at Practicing for an Abolitionist World: A Transnational Gathering for TJ/RJ/CA Practitioners Conference
- June 2023 Published the Games Hotline Digital Safety Guide
- July 2023 Games 4 Change Festival Talks: So You’ve Been Canceled. Now What? & Lightning Talks from Luminaries: Imagining 10 Years in the Future of Games
- September 2023 Final month of Hotline operation
709
Total Conversations
Most Common Topics
- 1 Online harassment
- 2 Mental health
- 3 Community or interpersonal relationships
- 4 In-Game harassment
- 5 Work-Related distress
Who texted us?
- 32.6% Video game players
- 29.5% Other online harassment targets
- 17.8% Other
- 14.5% Games industry workers
- 5.6% Students
Our Impact Reports
2021
2022
2023
Staff
The Games Hotline is run by Feminist Frequency’s staff.
Anita Sarkeesian
Executive Director
Jae Lin
Hotline Director and Programs Manager
Carl Murray Olsen
Hotline Coordinator
Hotline Supervisors
Jess Martin
KSPHQ
Annie Murdock
KSPHQ
Erica Smith
KSPHQ
Advisors
Christopher Vu Gandin Le
Hotline Technical Specialist
Eve Crevoshay
Executive Director of Take This
Kishonna Gray
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois – Chicago
Leigh Honeywell
Security Expert
Kat Lo
Moderation Researcher
Dr. Sarah Hays
Licensed Therapist
With Gratitude
A project of this magnitude takes a village. We wouldn’t be able to do this work without the aid, patience, generosity, and wisdom of so many amazing peer organizations and individuals lifting us up. We extend special thanks to the following orgs who have gone above and beyond in working deeply and extensively with us.
Take This
Beyond all the space they’ve created and pathways they’ve forged for mental health in games, Take This has been consistently supportive in offering us guidance and knowledge about the games industry and wellness for gamers. We have come to rely on them for community solidarity, research guidance, and their wealth of perspectives.
AnyKey
From awareness-raising to knowledge-sharing, AnyKey has shown up for the Games Hotline in myriad ways. They’ve contributed valuable materials on Esports to our training, hosted a delightful fundraiser, offered research insight, and are perpetually supportive of our endeavors. We are proud to be an AnyKey affiliate.
The Representation Project
As an organization on the forefront of research on the intersectional impacts of representation in media spaces, we are so grateful for their insightful and whole-hearted support of the Games Hotline. From analyzing data, to drafting reports, and holding our hands through the various options and paths forward, they have been a crucial supporter to helping us find the stories we can tell about our work.
Vision Point Systems
This team of engineers went above and beyond to make our vision for a custom, easy-to-use, agent-centered platform for answering hotline texts. They were incredibly generous, patient, and attentive to us from the very beginning through the very end. As the team who worked on the least publicly visible aspect of the Hotline, we extend heartfelt gratitude here.
Testimonials
Feedback from Games Hotline users.
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[tss_item text=”Something about the specificity to game developers made this feel accessible to me when other hotlines have not. I’m so glad I texted, even though I was unsure whether it would be valuable. I feel so much better just having been able to share my overwhelm with a compassionate listener who asked supportive questions with reflections of empathy.” /]
[tss_item text=”This is the real deal, helped me when i was in a dark place over online matters. Thank you so much.” /]
[tss_item text=”Something about the specificity to game developers made this feel accessible to me when other hotlines have not. I’m so glad I texted, even though I was unsure whether it would be valuable. I feel so much better just having been able to share my overwhelm with a compassionate listener who asked supportive questions with reflections of empathy.” /]
[tss_item text=”The person who messaged me really heard me out. They gave me lots of hope for the future when I felt there was none.” /]
[tss_item text=”Honestly really just helped. I didn’t even expect it to help much, I didn’t know what to expect really, just thought I should try” /]
[tss_item text=”I was having issues with harassment in a game. They provided me with some helpful information that I was not aware of on how to handle my issues. I’m really glad I got in touch with them.” /]
[tss_item text=”The Games Hotline helped me through some major anxiety about being new in the industry. Thank you so much for the support and help!” /]
[tss_item text=”Helped turn my view around completely. I can’t thank you enough, you changed my life. It was a safe space for me to share my private thoughts and emotions, and I’m so thankful for that. It meant the world to me.” /]
[tss_item text=”Really helpful and consoling. It felt good to let stuff off my chest.” /]
[tss_item text=”Learned about this from the game, We Are OFK, and was in a funk so gave it a shot. The person I chatted with was really helpful! Keep in mind they aren’t on 24-7 but got back to me the very next day during their business hours.” /]
[tss_item text=”I have been feeling very unmotivated and non-creative and the chat spurred me to open my SoundCloud account after many months and found that my favorite artist on there and Apple Music had positively commented on one of my pieces and liked an album I created! That’s always something to get creative motivation going. Jamie also helped me talk over some other emotional issues.” /]
[tss_item text=”I highly recommend giving it a shot. May be what you need.” /]
[tss_item text=”Very helpful and very patient. Didn’t think I’d ever have to use such a specific helpline, but I’m glad it was here when I needed it. Thank you” /]
[tss_item text=”I spoke to someone from this hotline and it helped a lot in regards to how I was sexually harassed by a role-play partner in Conan Exiles. Having someone to talk to about the situation who was neutral, kind and empathetic to what female gamers often go through in these situations was extremely helpful to me.” /]
[tss_item text=”Wonderful service you are providing. Sometimes there’s no easy fix to online harassment so just having a sounding board and someone to talk through your thoughts with you in a nonjudgemental space is so calming and therapeutic. Thank you!” /]
[tss_item text=”Thank you guys for being absolutely here for people who feel lost. These people are incredibly patient, understanding, and it’s not forced cheesiness either. They work with you to help find positive solutions on how to face life. Even though we may not agree within the same beliefs, they still treat you like human. That’s something that’s really helped out throughout each and every conversation with this group. They make you feel heard and helps you to reflect on what things you can improve about yourself. This isn’t a service for a quick solution, but this is a long-term positive impact that y’all have made on the community. I’m sad to see this service go” /]
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