A US mom has taken to Facebook demanding answers after her child's avatar was gang raped on popular online game creation platform, Roblox.
According to mom Amber Petersen, her 7-year-old daughter was playing the game on her tablet at home at that time. She explained that they decided to allow their daughter to play the game after adjusting the security settings to maximum security.
Roblox has security settings that allow parents to block outside conversations and invitations. There are also 24-hour moderators that are hired to block any potentially inappropriate content, so they thought it would be alright.
If you are new to the game, Roblox is not just a shoot-everything-in-sight kind of game. There are actually many different segments and genres on the popular online game Roblox.
Amber's daughter was playing on one that was apparently age-appropriate and designed especially for children. Nothing prepared Amber for what she was about to see when her daughter came over to show her the screen and asked what was going on.
Gang Raped On Roblox
Traumatized and feeling violated on so many levels, the mom shared screenshots, which showed two male avatars attacking her daughter's female character. One from behind and one under her.
Imagine the mom's horror watching her innocent 7-year-old daughter getting virtually gang raped on Roblox while another avatar watched. For all we know, it could have been another child!
Think for a second about the side effects of introducing sex to a child at that age. The mental trauma?
The screenshots she shared in comments, clearly showed a representation of the male genitalia, but we're blurring it here to save parents from disgust.
And just as quickly the two perpetrators left the game after it was over.
Extremely upset, Amber posted this on Facebook: "Parents/Caregivers... not only do I urge you to delete this app. I hope you will take another look at all of your devices and their security settings."
How can they allow a child to be gang raped on Roblox?
Despite countless occasions of sexual abuse involving children on Roblox, we're shocked to find that it is still around!
When asked about the child's avatar that was gang raped on Roblox, a spokesperson said that they have banned the players who have violated its community policies and rules of conduct. They also emphasized that they have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and are working to ensure a safe platform for all users.
However, with 64 million players per month, suffice to say Roblox is here to stay. So it is up to us parents to make the stand and refrain our children from playing this game.
Yes, it is addictive. Yes, you can build anything on Roblox. Children can create their own games and also join in games created by others. There's even role playing, dressing up and meeting other people in virtual space. We can see why Roblox is so popular among children.
However, if despite maximum security settings, a child can still be gang raped in Roblox in a child appropriate game, then I'm sorry: it is not safe.
Please read this article for more on ensuring Internet safety for your kids: 10 Things you need to teach your kids NOW about Internet safety
Source: BBC
Read also: 6-year-old girl invited into 'sex room' while playing video game!
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore