Collective Shout: Difference between revisions

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The group claims to have lobbied payment processors after sending 3,000 emails to Steam and receiving no response.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steam at Collective Shout |url=https://www.collectiveshout.org/tags/steam |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250720103220/https://www.collectiveshout.org/tags/steam |archive-date=20 Jul 2025 |access-date=7 Aug 2025 |website=Collective Shout}}</ref><ref name="CBCCards">{{Cite news |last=Ore |first=Jonathan |date=31 Jul 2025 |title=How an anti-porn lobby on payment processors censored thousands of video games |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/steam-itch-takedowns-credit-cards-1.7597563 |access-date=1 Aug 2025 |work=CBC}}</ref>

====Open letter to payment processors====

----

Mr Alex Chriss, CEO and President, Paypal

Mr Michael Miebach, CEO, Mastercard

Mr Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa

Mr Bruce Lowthers, CEO, Paysafe Limited

Mr Michael J. Shepherd Director, Interim CEO and President, Discover

Mr Takayoshi Futae, President, CEO and Chairman, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB)

Re: Your corporations facilitating and profiting from rape, incest and child sexual abuse game sales

We the undersigned are writing to request that you cease processing payments on gaming platforms which host rape, incest and child sexual abuse-themed games.

In April, we exposed the sale of rape simulation game ‘No Mercy’ on both Steam and Itch.io gaming platforms. In the game, players assume the persona of a man who rapes his female family members, including his mother and his aunt, as punishment for his mother’s infidelity. It was marketed as follows:

In this game, you’ll either become every woman’s worst nightmare… or rather: the best dick they'll ever have. Your goal is simple: leave no pussy non-''lucked'', since that's the only thing they all want. Never take 'no' for an answer.

''Luck'' your mom, ''luck'' your auntie, and even ''luck'' your friend’s mom. Why not?

Take what’s yours and show No Mercy.

The game was geo-blocked in Australia following Collective Shout’s complaint to the Australian Classification Board. Following our global viral campaign including a change.org petition signed by over 70,000 concerned individuals and attracting international media attention, the game was taken down in Canada and the UK, and pulled from Steam by the developer.

However we have since discovered hundreds of other games featuring rape, incest and child sexual abuse on both Steam and Itch.io. Our research has shown many of these games would breach Australian classification laws. Most of the content found within the games, including the graphics and the developers descriptions, are too distressing for us to make public.

A Collective Shout team member has conducted extensive research using a Steam account set up for this purpose. She has documented content including violent sexual torture of women, and children including incest related abuse involving family members.

These games endorsing men’s sexualised abuse and torture of women and girls fly in the face of efforts to address violence against women. We do not see how facilitating payment transactions and deriving financial benefit from these violent and unethical games, is consistent with your corporate values and mission statements.

We request that you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games.

We await your response.

Yours sincerely

Melinda Tankard Reist, Movement Director, Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation (AUS)

Haley McNamara, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Programs, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (US)

Michael Salter, Professor and Director of the Childlight East Asia and Pacific Hub, University of New South Wales (AUS)

Helen Taylor, Vice President of Impact, Exodus Cry (US)

Dr Tegan Larin, Public Officer, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia, CATWA (AUS)

Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, CEASE (UK)

Kelly Humphries, CSA survivor, speaker, advocate, DV & sexual violence consultant (AUS)

Sally Jackson, Trustee, Global Lead for Male Violence Against Women and Girls (MVAWG), FiLiA (UK)

Jon Rouse APM, Professor at AiLECS Labs Monash University and Childlight Hub (AUS)

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Alongside explicit content, the group also expressed a desire to remove ''{{Wplink|Detroit: Become Human}}'' from gaming platforms for depictions of physical abuse against women and children.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbe |first=Rebecca |date=6 Dec 2017 |title=Stop video game Detroit: Become Human, depicting child abuse being sold in Australia |url=https://www.change.org/p/the-hon-christian-porter-mp-stop-video-game-depicting-child-abuse-being-sold-in-australia |url-status=live |access-date=16 Aug 2025 |website=change.org}}</ref>

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 The group claims to have lobbied payment processors after sending 3,000 emails to Steam and receiving no response.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steam at Collective Shout |url=https://www.collectiveshout.org/tags/steam |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250720103220/https://www.collectiveshout.org/tags/steam |archive-date=20 Jul 2025 |access-date=7 Aug 2025 |website=Collective Shout}}</ref><ref name="CBCCards">{{Cite news |last=Ore |first=Jonathan |date=31 Jul 2025 |title=How an anti-porn lobby on payment processors censored thousands of video games |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/steam-itch-takedowns-credit-cards-1.7597563 |access-date=1 Aug 2025 |work=CBC}}</ref>
+====Open letter to payment processors====
+----
+Mr Alex Chriss, CEO and President, Paypal
+Mr Michael Miebach, CEO, Mastercard
+Mr Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa
+Mr Bruce Lowthers, CEO, Paysafe Limited
+Mr Michael J. Shepherd Director, Interim CEO and President, Discover
+Mr Takayoshi Futae, President, CEO and Chairman, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB)
+Re: Your corporations facilitating and profiting from rape, incest and child sexual abuse game sales
+We the undersigned are writing to request that you cease processing payments on gaming platforms which host rape, incest and child sexual abuse-themed games.
+In April, we exposed the sale of rape simulation game ‘No Mercy’ on both Steam and Itch.io gaming platforms. In the game, players assume the persona of a man who rapes his female family members, including his mother and his aunt, as punishment for his mother’s infidelity. It was marketed as follows:
+    In this game, you’ll either become every woman’s worst nightmare… or rather: the best dick they'll ever have. Your goal is simple: leave no pussy non-''lucked'', since that's the only thing they all want. Never take 'no' for an answer.
+    ''Luck'' your mom, ''luck'' your auntie, and even ''luck'' your friend’s mom. Why not?
+    Take what’s yours and show No Mercy.
+The game was geo-blocked in Australia following Collective Shout’s complaint to the Australian Classification Board. Following our global viral campaign including a change.org petition signed by over 70,000 concerned individuals and attracting international media attention, the game was taken down in Canada and the UK, and pulled from Steam by the developer.
+However we have since discovered hundreds of other games featuring rape, incest and child sexual abuse on both Steam and Itch.io. Our research has shown many of these games would breach Australian classification laws. Most of the content found within the games, including the graphics and the developers descriptions, are too distressing for us to make public.
+A Collective Shout team member has conducted extensive research using a Steam account set up for this purpose. She has documented content including violent sexual torture of women, and children including incest related abuse involving family members.
+These games endorsing men’s sexualised abuse and torture of women and girls fly in the face of efforts to address violence against women. We do not see how facilitating payment transactions and deriving financial benefit from these violent and unethical games, is consistent with your corporate values and mission statements.
+We request that you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games.
+We await your response.
+Yours sincerely
+Melinda Tankard Reist, Movement Director, Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation (AUS)
+Haley McNamara, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Programs, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (US)
+Michael Salter, Professor and Director of the Childlight East Asia and Pacific Hub, University of New South Wales (AUS)
+Helen Taylor, Vice President of Impact, Exodus Cry (US)
+Dr Tegan Larin, Public Officer, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia, CATWA (AUS)
+Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, CEASE (UK)
+Kelly Humphries, CSA survivor, speaker, advocate, DV & sexual violence consultant (AUS)
+Sally Jackson, Trustee, Global Lead for Male Violence Against Women and Girls (MVAWG), FiLiA (UK)
+Jon Rouse APM, Professor at AiLECS Labs Monash University and Childlight Hub (AUS)
+----
 Alongside explicit content, the group also expressed a desire to remove ''{{Wplink|Detroit: Become Human}}'' from gaming platforms for depictions of physical abuse against women and children.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barbe |first=Rebecca |date=6 Dec 2017 |title=Stop video game Detroit: Become Human, depicting child abuse being sold in Australia |url=https://www.change.org/p/the-hon-christian-porter-mp-stop-video-game-depicting-child-abuse-being-sold-in-australia |url-status=live |access-date=16 Aug 2025 |website=change.org}}</ref>