1st Workshop
Respectful Social XR:
Addressing Ethical and Gender Issues

  • Gender-based misconduct in virtual environments.
  • Ethical implications of avatar design and embodiment.
  • Behavioral psychology in XR: violent vs. prosocial outcomes.
  • Inclusive and equitable virtual space design.
  • User safety and data privacy in social XR.
  • Legal and regulatory considerations for AI and XR technologies.
  • Case studies on harmful behaviors transitioning from physical to virtual spaces.
  • Strategies for mitigating abusive behavior in virtual environments.
  • Research on transforming perspectives via virtual embodiment on gender-related attitudes and responses.
More
 

Making XR gender-inclusive

Workshop goal

As Extended Reality (XR) technologies become increasingly integrated into social interactions, addressing ethical and gender-related challenges in these virtual environments is essential. “Respectful Social XR: Addressing Ethical and Gender Issues” aims to foster the creation of equitable and inclusive virtual spaces by examining gender equality, tackling gender-based misconduct and harmful behaviors that extend from physical to virtual social settings, and reflecting on broader societal challenges and consequences. This workshop will discuss gender-related ethical considerations concerning user behavior, avatar embodiment, and interaction design, and develop design implications to mitigate harmful behaviors.


Launching the “Respectful Social XR” workshop series, this event aims to bring together a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders to collaborate on actionable strategies, promoting a responsible and gender-inclusive evolution of social XR environments.

Schedule

Introduction (10 minutes): 

 Welcome remarks

 Overview of workshop objectives and agenda

Keynote Presentation (50 minutes): 

 A representative from Women In Immersive Tech Europe (https://www.wiiteurope.org/)

Paper Session (60 minutes):

 ~4-5 papers x 10 min + 5 min Q&A

Break (30 minutes)

Interactive Sessions (60 minutes):

 Breakout groups to brainstorm and discuss specific topics

 Collaborative activities to develop actionable strategies

Report Back and Synthesis (20 minutes):

 Groups present their findings and proposed solutions

 Facilitated discussion to integrate ideas

Closing Remarks (10 minutes):

 Summary of key takeaways

 Next steps and opportunities for continued collaboration

Workshop organizers

Info

Submission Information

Papers should be submitted via Easychair. All submissions will be reviewed by experts in the areas listed above. At least one author of each accepted submission must register for the workshop and IEEE VR 2025 conference. Authors of accepted papers will be expected to give a 10-minute presentation at the workshop.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: January 19, 2025, 23:59 AoE

Notification Deadline: January 22, 2025, 23:59 AoE

Camera-Ready January 25, 2025, 23:59 AoE

Publication

We are considering a special issue / research topic in Frontiers in Virtual Reality.

Keynote

  • tbc

Maria Roussou
University of Athens, Greece
https://www.makebelieve.gr/mroussou/

Ferran Argelaguet, Michèle Barbier
Inria, France 

Mavi Sanchez Vives, Justyna Swidrak
August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute, Spain



Mel Slater
University of Barcelona, Spain; ICREA, Spain