Anti-Harassment Policy

1. Introduction

LexiCon 2017 is dedicated to providing a harassment-free pro-consent conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of convention members in any form. Convention members violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the Convention at the discretion of the Convention organisers. Our anti-harassment policy can be found in the ConBook, at the Registration Desk, and on this web page.

2. What is harassment?

Harassment includes verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion; sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention.

3. Consent

The Convention shall be pro-consent. This means people should respect other people’s boundaries, and be able to express their own. Consent applies to matters such as asking a fellow participant “May I sit with you?”, “Would you like to chat?” or “Would you mind if I take your photo?”

4. Warnings

Participants asked to stop any harassing or non-consensual behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing or non-consensual behaviour, the convention committee may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the convention without refund. Where necessary, the convention committee may take such actions without warning.

5. Exhibits and Presentations

Exhibitors, sponsor or vendor booths, or similar activities are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. Exhibitors are asked to be cognizant of the exclusionary effects of a heavily sexualised environment and to refrain from creating or contributing to such an environment. The convention committee reserves the right to request the removal of any material from display. Failure to comply with such requests will be subject to action as detailed in section 4.

6. Content of Panels

Members are warned that panels may contain content that is difficult, triggering and/or relates to violence. Where possible, this will either be made obvious in the panel description, or a specific note will be posted in the ConBook - however as most events are unscripted this is not always possible. Panelists are asked to provide content warnings where possible and to keep in mind that members may have had a range of experiences that make some topics difficult or impossible to hear about. If you are unsure about how to do this, please speak to a member of the Convention Committee.

7. Reporting

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the Convention Committee or its designated anti-harassment representatives immediately. Convention Committee members can be identified by specific Lexicon name-tags. All reports of harassment, non-consensual or inappropriate behaviour will be treated in confidence, and actions will only take place after consultation with the complainant. The Convention Committee will endeavour to assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We expect participants to follow these rules at all conference venues and conference-related social events. We value your attendance.

Notes:

This policy is a work in progress and will change from time to time. We invite comments and feedback - please use our Contact form.

Contact details for ConCom representatives, additional safety/harassment contacts who are not members of the ConCom, and related organisations will be provided closer to the time. Please use our Contact Form if you have concerns in the meantime.

We would like to acknowledge the many individuals and organisations who have done work on creating harassment policies and procedures. Many of these provided inspiration as we drew up this policy. We’d particularly like to acknowledge geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment, a creative commons document in the public domain, from which we used some content.