Serious and Educational Digital Games for the Prevention, Awareness, and Combating of Sexual Violence: a Systematic Mapping Study and Benchmark

Abstract

Serious and educational digital games addressing the issue of sexual violence are increasingly being adopted as innovative tools to tackle this complex social issue, by enabling engagement through interactive simulations and safe environments. However, there is a lack of studies that not only consolidate the state of the art of these initiatives but also assess the practical feasibility and technical quality of such resources. As an extended version of a previous study, this article has the dual objective of mapping the scientific literature through a Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) and conducting a benchmark evaluation of existing digital games focused on this theme. For this SMS, inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. The process included searches in databases such as IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Scopus, and ERIC. Eight papers were analyzed, revealing trends in game design, such as narratives based on interactive storytelling and scenario-based learning. As an extension of this work, the games identified in the SMS, along with new games identified in the literature, were subjected to a benchmark analysis. Practical criteria such as usability, Player eXperience (PX), interaction mechanics, accessibility, language availability, and the use of emerging technologies were analyzed. A practical evaluation of 11 educational games revealed a significant disconnect between academic theory and practice. Although commercially available games primarily target adolescents (54.5%) and offer excellent usability and PX, a pedagogical limitation was identified: 72.7% lack built-in mechanisms for assessing learning. Furthermore, a significant lack of accessibility features for people with disabilities was observed. These findings provide practical recommendations for researchers, educators, and developers to integrate pedagogical validation and inclusive design into game mechanics, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and reach of future initiatives in this critical domain.