S&CC is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable event experience for all participants, and a welcoming environment for free discussion of ideas. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form during events or in any S&CC online space or social media. Throughout this document, the term ‘event’ always includes both in-person events and virtual events.
If you have any concerns about inappropriate behavior by any participant during an event or at any time in any S&CC online space or related social media, please contact the meeting staff via email or the webform for reporting incidents: https://sccvo.org/incident-report
What constitutes harassment?
Harassment includes—but is not limited to—unwelcome conduct or offensive verbal comments related to age, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, belief system, or spiritual practice; deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, unwelcome or unauthorized photography or recording (including taking screenshots or otherwise recording an individual’s participation in virtual events and online community spaces), sustained disruption of talks, other events, or online community spaces, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, and sexualized images in public spaces. Similarly, encouraging others to engage in such behavior is not permitted, nor are false accusations of harassment.
Who is covered under this Code of Conduct?
All attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, staff, and volunteers are required to refrain from harassment when participating in S&CC events and in related online communities and social media. Meeting staff will enforce this Code at all times, and expects cooperation from all participants. S&CC also requests that event participants refrain from using potentially offensive language in social media posts using our event hashtags.
Guidelines for Speakers
Speakers are responsible for the content of their presentations, but S&CC requests that speakers be cognizant of potentially offensive actions, language, or imagery, and that they consider whether it is necessary to convey their message. If they do decide to include it, S&CC asks that they warn the audience, at the beginning of the talk, and provide them with the opportunity to leave the talk to avoid seeing or hearing the material.
What should I do if I observe unacceptable behavior at S&CC or in an S&CC online space?
Interpersonal Behavior: If it is safe to do so, we encourage you to request that the person stop the unwelcome or harassing behavior. Participants who are asked to stop any such behavior are expected to comply immediately.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any related concerns, please contact meeting staff or event organizers immediately.
Talks, Presentations, Posters: Meeting staff and event organizers welcome feedback of all kinds about talks and presentations. Attendee comments are taken seriously when planning future events and will be kept in confidence if requested.
Virtual Events and Online Community Spaces: S&CC moderators may participate in online community spaces and will take action as they deem appropriate if they observe harassment. Moderators will generally first respond to such remarks with a warning, although egregious harassment may be responded to without a warning.
If the warning is unheeded, the user will first be removed temporarily from the space. Users who persist in violating this Code of Conduct will be indefinitely excluded.
If a moderator bans someone and you think it was unjustified, please contact meeting staff in private. Complaints about bans in-channel are not allowed.
If harassment is reported in S&CC online community spaces, S&CC reserves the right to review private messages between participants involved.
What happens once a report is made?
Interpersonal Behavior: If an incident of harassment is reported, meeting staff will conduct an investigation. If they determine—to the best of their ability, and in their sole discretion—that a participant has violated this Code, they may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event (or the online space) with no refund. Under certain circumstances and at their discretion, meeting staff may contact hotel security and/or appropriate law enforcement authorities. To protect all parties involved, S&CC will generally not make any detailed public statements about Code of Conduct incidents.
Talks and Presentations: Concerns will be relayed to current and future organizers, who will take the information into account when selecting speakers for future events. S&CC requests that attendees understand, however, that determining whether material is “offensive” is a subjective call.
This is a Living Document
S&CC intends for these policies to meet the needs of our attendees to have positive experiences at our events and in our online community spaces, and we welcome comments and suggestions from the community. Please contact the S&CC organizers if you would like to provide feedback.