ANNUAL TWITCH FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN IN FULL SWING

Mettlestate and the TEARS Foundation collaborate to raise money for Gender Based Violence initiatives this women’s month.  

Esports organiser, Mettlestate have rallied multiple streamers for the fourth annual #GamersAgainstGBV, a streamathon and money raised assists the TEARS Foundation in promoting its youth-based platform SpeakUp 

Brand Manager of Mettlestate, Tina Miller, explains that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in domestic violence statistics prompted the company to ask itself the question of what they should do. According to a study appearing in the journal of Anti-corruption Law during the first week of lockdown level 5, approximately 2 320 gender-based violence complaints were reported. Then Police Minister, Bheki Cele, said this was 37 per cent more than the weekly average of gender-based violence complaints reported to the police in 2019. 

“If there’s one thing the gaming community can do, it’s rally behind a good cause.” The company contacted twitch streamers within their network to see what they could arrange and settled on the idea of a streamathon where all revenue donated would go into a pot to be donated at the end of the campaign. 

Considering Twitch viewership grew by 80% during the pandemic, the video game streaming giant become the clearest choice for the initiative “[A streamathon was the] easiest thing to do without people breaking the rules of lockdown.”  

Tears Foundation supervisor, Kavya Swaminathan,said, “The reality of a 35 year old dealing with GBV is very different from a 19-year-old dealing with GBV… It is a very different conversation. Using a medium that people gravitate towards is important.” 

Miller was previously a competitive gamer and has experienced the unwelcome nature of the gaming space first hand. “The anonymity of it (online gaming) makes it very easy [for people] to conduct themselves in horrible ways.” “[E]ducation goes a long way,” says V-tuber RespawnedKitty who is participating in the streamathon.    

Twitch Streamer "Mama_Succubus"

“Campaigns like the [#GamersAgainstGBV] often include educational initiatives that inform gamers about the impact of gender-based violence and how to prevent it.” she continues. The TEARS Foundation attempt to combat this among young people through the use of its SpeakUp, initiative. A series of free, interactive animated videos used to fill the educational gap regarding things such as consent and sexual education. 

Having a diverse group of streamers was imperative for Mettlestate as Miller says that each streamer brings their audiences with them. Among the many streamers participating in the competition is Wits Aeronautical Engineering student Shanil "Shenz63" Bheeka.  

Wits Aeronautical Student Shanil "Shenz63" Bheeka

Having raised over R100,000.00 in 2023, the campaign looks set to finish strong this year with the marathon stream from 9am – 5pm on August 9, 2024.