Russia's pro-Kremlin tabloid LifeNews has released a new online game designed to mock a teenage rape victim.
Seventeen-year-old Diana S. was raped at a party in the central Russian town of Ulyanovsk in April 2016. Her case - and her decision to speak out about the attack - has drawn widespread media attention in Russia, raising serious questions as to how Russia relates to sexual assault and its victims.
The game, which shows Diana S. sitting on a bed, asks the player to "defend" the girl from men holding bottles of vodka. Before beginning, the player is told “Help Diana, so that she does not become a victim of rape during the party. You are her last hope!”. If the player fails, the game shows a picture of Diana's distraught face.
LifeNews has been one of the many Russian outlets to defend Diana's attacker, a 21-year-old man whom she did not know before the party. A Russian court found him guilty of rape in December 2016 and sentenced him to eight years in prison. The punishment was later reduced to three years and three months.
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