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Virtual Reality in Sexual Harassment Prevention: Proof-of-Concept Study

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Shir BrokmanAuthors Info & Claims

IVA '21: Proceedings of the 21st ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents

Pages 87 - 89

https://doi.org/10.1145/3472306.3478356

Published: 14 September 2021 Publication History

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Abstract

Sexual harassment (SH) training is a major public health priority, and available programs show limited efficacy. We present a new application for virtual agents in virtual reality (VR), which has the potential to deliver SH training that imitates real world scenarios and is yet safe. We conducted a proof-of-concept study to examine whether a VR simulation of a job interview during which the interviewer, a semi-automated virtual agent, sexually harasses the interviewee is an effective practice tool for women, and could serve as the basis for developing skills for effective response. Five females (24-25 years old) participated in this VR scenario and were then interviewed about their reactions to the VR scenario and the virtual agent. Four main themes emerged: paralysis and fear, uncertainty how to respond, resurfacing of previous SH experiences, and VR as an effective training tool for preventing SH. Findings suggest that contemporary virtual agents in VR can induce the sense of being harassed, similar to real humans. VR offers a safe exposure for SH and may serve as a learning platform to empower women in considering and practicing more effective responses to future SH experiences.

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675620
Wilczkowiak MJakubzak KClemoes JTreptow CPorubanova MRead KMcDuff DKuznetsova MRintel SGonzalez-Franco M(2024)Ecological Validity and the Evaluation of Avatar Facial Animation Noise2024 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00019(72-79)Online publication date: 16-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00019
Zhang KDeldari EYao YZhao Y(2023)A Diary Study in Social Virtual Reality: Impact of Avatars with Disability Signifiers on the Social Experiences of People with DisabilitiesProceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3597638.3608388(1-17)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3597638.3608388
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Index Terms

Virtual Reality in Sexual Harassment Prevention: Proof-of-Concept Study
1. Applied computing
  1. Law, social and behavioral sciences
    1. Psychology
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms
      1. Virtual reality

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IVA '21: Proceedings of the 21st ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents

September 2021

238 pages

ISBN:9781450386197

DOI:10.1145/3472306

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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New York, NY, United States

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Published: 14 September 2021

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IVA '21: ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents

September 14 - 17, 2021

Virtual Event, Japan

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Gualano RJiang LZhang KShende TWon AAzenkot S(2024)“I Try to Represent Myself as I Am”: Self-Presentation Preferences of People with Invisible Disabilities through Embodied Social VR AvatarsProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675620(1-15)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675620
Wilczkowiak MJakubzak KClemoes JTreptow CPorubanova MRead KMcDuff DKuznetsova MRintel SGonzalez-Franco M(2024)Ecological Validity and the Evaluation of Avatar Facial Animation Noise2024 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00019(72-79)Online publication date: 16-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW62533.2024.00019
Zhang KDeldari EYao YZhao Y(2023)A Diary Study in Social Virtual Reality: Impact of Avatars with Disability Signifiers on the Social Experiences of People with DisabilitiesProceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3597638.3608388(1-17)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3597638.3608388
Giron JBerenson AHashai N(2023)Case study: Strategy Business Administration Interactive XR Learning2023 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)10.1109/VRW58643.2023.00115(527-529)Online publication date: Mar-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW58643.2023.00115
Giron JLatar N(2022)The Impact of COVID-19 on the Dispersion of Immersive Technologies and Human Behavior Research and ImplementationTransitioning Media in a Post COVID World10.1007/978-3-030-95330-0_7(99-113)Online publication date: 20-Apr-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95330-0_7

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Sexual harassment on the internet

The impact of virtual reality versus 2D pornography on sexual arousal and presence

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