Sky has subjected men to the vitriolic online abuse faced by women gamers for a new campaign that exposes the brutal reality of the language faced by women in gaming.

Through its partnership with Guild Esports, the media giant found that whilst as many as 47% of all gamers are women, only 5% of professional gamers are.

This disparity may be linked to the fact that 3 out of 4 women under 25 experience abuse while gaming online, with an alarming 11% feeling suicidal as a result of the abuse they face.

As part of the campaign – the shocking reality of the abuse faced was laid bare, with phrases such as: “Kill yourself. Honestly, go kill yourself.”/“Nobody would care if you died tomorrow.”/“You’re lucky I don’t know your address. Otherwise, I’d rape you.” being sent to women by men.

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A partnership including Sky Media, Essence Mediacom, Sky Creative Agency and Guild Esports invited unsuspecting male games to showcase their skills before subjecting them to the violent verbal abuse faced by women gamers.

“Sexist abuse in online gaming is completely unacceptable and we must stand together to address this fundamentally important issue and make online gaming safe and accessible to all,” Sky head of advertising and campaigns, Jaclyn Beavis said.

“We’re proud to be working with Guild Esports and Cybersmile to help educate gamers and encourage them to be better allies. We’re also committed to creating a level playing field for women in gaming through tournaments, events, educational experiences and more.”

Run last year, the campaign has now achieved significantly positive cut-through, achieving over 69 million impressions and increasing the awareness of abuse by 33% within the gaming community. The response from gamers was also overwhelmingly positive, with 84% finding it to be ‘authentic’.