Retail giant Target Australia has decided to ban sales of Grand Theft Auto V from its shelves after sex workers slammed it for promoting violence against women.
The sex workers who campaigned against sales of GTAV were apalled by the option of the game to allow players to engage in simulated sex with prostitutes, then later get their money back by killing the prostitutes.
In change.org, the petition to ban the "sickening" GTAV has already garnered around 44,831 supporters. "Nicole Survivor" of Australia writes, "Just knowing that women are being portrayed as deserving to be sexually used by men and potentially murdered for sport and pleasure – to see this violence that we lived through turned into a form of entertainments is sickening and causes us great pain and harm."
She adds that the game makes women "scapegoats for male violence" and "shows hatred and contempt for women in the sex industry."
However, Target's decision to pull off GTAV sales only enraged gamers, particularly those who are big fans of the Grand Theft Auto Series. They called the complaints "ridiculous."
Target has equally assessed both sides, and finally decided to take a stand against GTAV.
"We've also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue. However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of our customers," Target General Manager Corporate Affairs Jim Cooper said in a statement.