For GISRUK Event Staff Approached About a Harassment Incident

Make sure you understand the GISRUK Code of Conduct.

Make sure you understand what an attendee expects from you when approaching you to report a harassment incident – see “Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour: For GISRUK Event Participants”.

IF YOU CONSIDER THAT ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE SITUATION COULD BE IN DANGER, DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL 999 FIRST.

All reports must be made directly to one of the following:

Levi John Wolf – Co-Chair of Conference: levi.john.wolf@bristol.ac.uk Rui Zhu – Co-chair of Conference rui.zhu@bristol.ac.uk Craig Robinson – GISRUK Chair: chair@gisruk.org

1. Incident Report. Make sure you gather as much information as possible in written form, with an emphasis on the following aspects:

   1. Identifying information (name) of the participant doing the harassing

   2. The behaviour that was in violation

   3. The approximate time and location of the behaviour and incident in question

   4. The circumstances surrounding the incident

   5. Other people involved in or witness to the incident

2. Initial response. This is a crucial step and it must be fulfilled with total responsibility. Depending on the severity/details of the incident, follow the guidelines:

   1. If there is any general threat to attendees or the safety of anyone (including conference staff is in doubt), summon security and or emergency services and/or initiate an evacuation.

   2. Offer the victim a private place to sit, ask “is there a friend or trusted person who you would like to be with you or contact?” (if so, arrange for someone to fetch this person or facilitate contact). Offer your undivided attention!

   3. Provide them with your list of emergency contacts if they need help later.

   4. If everyone is presently physically safe, involve law enforcement or security only at a victim’s request.

Please, carefully read, below, what NOT to do in case of a harassment incident report:

• Do NOT overtly invite them to withdraw the complaint or mention that withdrawal is OK. This suggests that you want them to do so and is therefore coercive. “If you’re OK with it [pursuing the complaint]” suggests that you are by default pursuing it and is not coercive.

• Do NOT ask for their advice on how to deal with the complaint. This is a staff responsibility. The exception being the involvement of security or police when there is no imminent danger to people.

• Do NOT offer them input into penalties. This is the staff’s responsibility

3. Staff meeting. Within 2 hours of an incident report, at least 2 of the GISRUK 2022 Organising Team, including at least one Conference Co-chair, to decide:

   1. What happened?

   2. What, if anything, are we doing anything about it?

   3. Who is doing those things?

   4. When are/were they doing them?

Additionally, the GISRUK Chair should be notified of the incident as soon as possible.

Actions that can be taken by the Organising Committee can include, but are not limited to:

If specific action is decided to be taken against the harasser the conference co-chairs, or nominated deputies, will follow-up with the harasser. However, this should not be done alone and should be done as a pair or more of the Organising Committee. The communicating members of the Organising Committee will inform the harasser of what has been reported about them while protecting the anonymity of the reporter. Allow the alleged harasser to speak, giving their side of the story to the staff. After this point, if the report still stands and no significant new information has been obtained that may alter the decision, let the alleged harasser know what actions will be taken against them.

The decision on the action(s) against the harasser are the responsibility of the conference staff and could be on or more of the following:

• Gathering more information

• Asking the person to cease the inappropriate behaviour, and warning them that any further reports will result in other sanctions

• Requiring that the person avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to, another person for the remainder of the event

• Early termination of a talk that violates the policy

• Not publishing the video or slides of a talk that violates the policy

• Not allowing a speaker who violated the policy to give (further) talks at the event

• Immediately ending any event responsibilities or privileges held

• Requiring that the person immediately leave the event and not return

• Blocking the person on social media platforms (for a defined time period)

• Banning the person from future events (for a defined time period)

• Publishing an anonymous account of the harassment

• Reporting the incident to the person’s employer

• Requiring that the harasser refund any travel grants and similar they received.

Publishing an account of the harassment and calling for the resignation of the harasser from their responsibilities (usually pursued by people without formal authority) may be called for if the harasser is formally representing GISRUK, e.g. a member of the Organising Committee. Typically, event staff have sufficient governing rights over their space that this option isn’t as useful. Any publication of the incident would anonymise the identities and would be approved by the larger GISRUK steering committee. Similarly, any contacting of a harasser’s employer would need approval from the larger GISRUK steering committee.

Follow-up Communication. It is essential for the GISRUK event, in particular, and for the GISRUK community, in general, the manner in which we publicly handle such incidents. It is essential to transmit that such incidents are in complete discord with the community and not tolerated at its events, but with high regard for privacy. Depending on the incident, the conference chair or their designate may decide to make one or more public announcements. If necessary, this will be done with a short announcement either during the plenary and/or through other channels. No one other than the conference chair or someone delegated authority from the conference chair should make any announcements.