Elite Female Gamers Forming an Anti-Bullying Hit Squad

In the wake of the Time’s Up and MeToo movement, a collection of "elite female gamers" are offering their services as digital hitmen against anyone who tries to bully or shame female gamers on CS:GO. They’re calling themselves: “The Bully Hunters”.

This is actually happening.

Headed by ZombiUnicorn, she’s helped by SteelSeries, Vertagear, CyberPowerPC, the Diverse Gaming Coalition, and the National Organization for Women. Most members are choosing to stay anonymous because… well, obviously. But their mission is fairly straightforward: find bullies, then systematically and ruthlessly destroy them in the game of their choice.

"The Bully Hunters are prepared for the possibility of retaliation and are putting measures in place to combat that. They will not purposely incite or encourage additional harassment or abuse, and will only engage with harassers through gameplay, eliminating them from the game using their skills and talent. Additionally, there will be a ratings system within the global tool which will allow both hunters and victims to rate their experiences, therefore reducing the chances of trolls infiltrating the system."

I’m not sure how much of this is just a gimmick to get attention to a problem that needs addressing (the group claims that more than 21 million female gamers have reported being sexually harassed in-game, which is a number I absolutely believe) and how much of it is legit, but apparently they have every intention to grow and are asking that female gamers who are pro at other online games to join their roster and start kicking bully butt.

"To become a Bully Hunter, a gamer’s statistics will be evaluated to ensure they can compete at a high level to eliminate harassers. Additionally, their history of play will be reviewed to ensure they haven’t been reported for any type of in-game harassment with other players."

I think it’s a cute idea, but… a dangerous one, too. These people are going to become harassment magnets, so hopefully, they’ll have thick skin… and the mad skills to defeat the abusers in the online arena.

Good luck, ladies.