‘GTA 5’ Update: Kmart, Target Australia Pull Out Game from Shelves Due to VAW Depiction

In Australia, the video game "Grand Theft Auto V" will no longer be offered for sale at Target and Kmart. Target and Kmart are actually owned by a single retail group called Wesfarmers.

In a report by CNet, the department store Target announced on December 3 that it will no longer offer "GTA V," due to "community pressure".

The petition consisting of more than 42,000 signatures, to stop the giant department store from selling the game title, was initiated by three female survivors of sexual violence. They started the movement on Change.org.

CNet also reported that the petition stated, "We have firsthand experience of this kind of sexual violence. To see this violence that we lived through turned into a form of entertainments is sickening and causes us great pain and harm. This game spreads the idea that certain women exist as scapegoats for male violence. It shows hatred and contempt for women in the sex industry and puts them at greater risk. ...Games like this are grooming yet another generation of boys to tolerate violence against women."

In a report by Kotaku Australia, Jim Cooper, general manager corporate affairs of Target Australia, said, "We've been speaking to many customers over recent days about the game, and there is a significant level of concern about the game's content. 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 GTA 5 is in line with the majority view of our customers."

However, Target will keep other R18+ game titles available. Cooper stated in the same Kotaku report, "While these products often contain imagery that some customers find offensive, in the vast majority of cases, we believe they are appropriate products for us to sell to adult customers. He added, "However, in the case of 'GTA 5,' we have listened to the strong feedback from customers that this is not a product they want us to sell."

In another report, Kotaku Australia revealed that Kmart Australia also followed Target's move of removing Grand Theft Auto 5 from its shelves.

Kmart Australia provided an official statement on the matter, "Following a significant review of all content in 'Grand Theft Auto Games' Kmart has taken the decision to remove this product immediately. "Kmart apologises for not being closer to the content of this game."

Take Two, the parent company of GTA 5's developer, Rockstar Games stated, "We are disappointed that an Australian retailer has chosen no longer to sell Grand Theft Auto V -- a title that has won extraordinary critical acclaim and has been enjoyed by tens of millions of consumers around the world."