As part of the activation, which was created by Livewire, Maybelline will be pairing female star gamers from Australia and New Zealand with counsellors in-game and on stream live on Twitch and YouTube.

Counsellors from Youthline will be going ‘Under the Avatar’ alongside gamers Nalopia, Aliythia, Berticuss, Develique and Qrissy, with their live streams promoting good gaming, creating safe spaces for gamers to feel confident and supported to take action against abuse, harassment or offensive behaviour.

The campaign follows research from Maybelline and Bastion which found that 76% of women have experienced or observed harassment or offensive behaviour while online gaming and that 71% of male gamers who witness abuse in gaming just ignore it.

In light of this, Maybelline, Youthline and ReachOut Australia have developed the following recommendations for dealing with toxic voice chat in game:

• Be aware: Pay attention to what’s going on around you and don’t ignore it when you witness something that doesn’t feel right.
• Voice your support: If you see somebody being abused make sure they know that you’re on their side. You could let them know you’ve reported the abuse and you’re there to chat if they need.
• Speak Up: If you feel safe and comfortable to do so, calmly speak with a generalised comment like “We don’t accept bullying in this space”, or “Let’s keep the comments positive”. Sometimes this can be enough of a circuit-breaker to get somebody to stop and realise the impact of their actions.
• Report it: Gaming platforms all have reporting functions and safety features that you can use to help out.