Video game and mental health charity Safe In Our World has launched new initiatives and programs to bring awareness to the topic of mental health within the gaming industry.
The video game industry is notable for its toxic workplace culture that spans everything from working long hours for game crunches to racism and misogyny. The Gamergate online harassment that flowed from 2014 to 2015 and Activision Blizzard’s workplace harassment lawsuit are two examples of it.
Safe In Our World is working to change the game industry by eliminating the stigma that surrounds mental health and creating guidelines for companies to follow.
Nearly $60,000 worth of online training courses have been made available for free to anyone with an interest in mental health and well-being but were designed to take minorities into consideration. Safe In Our World has invested nearly $162,000 in industry training courses since the charity was first established in 2019. All of the courses are free.
Their latest course was put together by Mind Fitness and focuses on the history of discrimination and systemic inequalities that minorities and marginalized groups often face when seeking mental health treatment.
Safe In Our World charity manager Sarah Sorrell spoke to Game Daily about what the group wanted to accomplish, explaining that “there was a clear need for more to be done within the games industry space, to be able to ensure people felt safe to talk about mental health, whether they were in need of support or knew of someone one in need.” She went on to add that that was how the charity was formed.
“For us, we wanted to help inspire and encourage companies to communicate with their staff and allow for these conversations to be destigmatized so that nobody is afraid to reach out for help if they need it,” said Sorrell.
Along with their goal of providing continual free training and their campaigns for game companies to commit to mental health support within the industry, Safe In Our World is also committed to conducting primary and secondary research. Their research will focus on the effects video games have on mental health issues, along with investigating the links between the benefits and drawbacks of video games.
