PackagePunch @packagepunch - Twitter Profile

22 days ago

Hi everyone I've been travelling this last week so I have not been aware of what's been going on in the SoT community until last night. I wanted to be the best informed that I could before sharing a statement and I also wanted to be able to sit down and give this situation the time & attention it needs. First and foremost, my heart was absolutely broken reading about this horrible situation. I fully stand with the victims (and I stand with any other victim that has not felt able to speak up). I also want to highlight the bravery it takes to even share your story with ONE person, let alone the entire internet. By doing so, that is the first step to making a change and protecting so many other children, and that is something to be incredibly proud of. I do not wish to make this situation about me (and neither should anyone else), however as someone who spent many years working to support countless victims of CSA and grooming in the UK and advocating for survivors, I wanted to share a few things that I feel are important and relevant as I've been seeing some absolutely wild takes online surrounding this conversation. It is NEVER the responsibility of a CHILD to protect themselves. We, as adults, have a duty of care and responsibility when interacting with children ESPECIALLY when we have a position of power. By carrying the title of "boatswain" or "SoT Partner" or even simply being a content creator, we already have a power imbalance and a lot of people do look up to us, including children. This is such an important responsibility to have and should NEVER be used to manipulate others. Whilst I definitely think parents should try their best to educate their children about online safety, I do not believe it's right to put any blame towards them. This is just blame shifting. Sea of Thieves is a game that does have children in the playerbase and that is always something to consider. I've seen comments trying to defend this situation saying age doesn't matter within gaming. Do I ever come across kids when playing SoT? All the time! They are allowed to enjoy SoT/gaming just as much as I am. But I do not, or never would even consider inviting them to a voice chat, sail with them regularly, create a friendship with them or even have a private DM with them. ESPECIALLY if I know their age. That just crosses so many lines. I also want to make it clear that I do not believe in silence when it comes to this matter. So often cases like this get swept under the rug or never reported in the first place. I am glad to see so many people speaking out, making statements & having these conversations no matter how difficult it is. People have a right to talk about this, to share their outrage and to condemn the actions of abusers. My content majority of the time focuses on good vibes & having fun, but I will never hesitate to speak out when needed and highlight the importance of this topic. I never take my platform for granted and I have always wished to use it for good, so I will continue to do this and fight for the changes that we want to see. I know a lot of others have spoken in detail about the laws in the UK and how companies have to go through investigations "unbiased" and cannot comment online about ongoing cases (@BehavingBeardly worded this perfectly in his post). So, like a lot of other partners, I am watching and eager to see what happens and hopeful to see a change that is so desperately needed going forward. Right now, I do not plan to step down as SoT partner, as I said I would rather use my position to fight for change and use my platform to advocate for good. Going forward, I believe anyone who has any form of platform or association with Rare needs to be fully vetted and background checked. Stop fighting each other or using this situation to promote your hatred towards other community members and instead direct your anger where it's needed and continue to spread awareness and keep each other safe. We are stronger together. Lastly, I will be doing a charity stream at some point in the next few weeks to raise money for @barnardos which is a charity dedicated to supporting children and families affected by CSA & Grooming.

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PackagePunch

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