Code of Conduct and Policy Against Harassment

Scope of Policy

This Anti-Harassment Policy applies to all NarraScope attendees, including participants, guests, staff, contractors, and exhibitors, both online and in-person. All attendees are expected to comply with this Event Anti-Harassment Policy at all event venues and event-related social activities.

This policy applies to all NarraScope activities, including (but not limited to):

  • Twitch chat, NarraScope Discord server channels conferences, symposia, workshops, and events sponsored, co-sponsored, or in cooperation with NarraScope;
  • NarraScope Committee meetings; and
  • communications with attendees, including in publications and communications sent through communication channels associated with NarraScope, including social media.

NarraScope’s Anti-Harassment Policy does not apply outside of NarraScope-sponsored activities and events. NarraScope has no duty to investigate allegations of harassment or misconduct made against members that did not arise at or during an NarraScope-sponsored event or activity.

Expected Behavior

We expect all NarraScope participants to abide by this policy in all venues, including ancillary events and unofficial social gatherings:

  • exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions;
  • refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior (online or offline) and speech;
  • be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants;
  • alert community leaders if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this policy, even if they seem inconsequential.
  • conduct yourself in virtual spaces as you would in physical ones.

In-person attendees must follow our COVID policy.

Unacceptable Behavior

We define unacceptable behavior as any behavior occurring within any NarraScope committee, event, platform, or group that intends to harm or harass any person or group.

The following non-exhaustive list describes the types of behavior NarraScope does not tolerate:

Physical behavior that causes harm to another person or group. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Assault.
  • Physical sexual harrassment.
  • Unwanted touching.
  • Bullying, stalking, following, or intimidating behavior.
  • Deliberately disregarding or violating explicitly required public-health safety measures.

Verbal behavior that causes harm to another person or group. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Verbal abuse or sexual harrassment.
  • Any verbal communication (private or public) that is designed to demean, devalue, or is derogatory towards a person's culture, heritage, identity, situation, or body.
  • Verbal threats of physical harm, real or implied, intentional or not.
  • Verbal threats of financial or professional harm, real or implied, intentional or not.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any harmful behavior towards another member or members (private or public). This also includes online communication.

Online behavior that causes harm to another person or group. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Doxxing, stalking, spamming, or otherwise intimidating online behavior.
  • Distributing digital material that is deliberately and negatively targeting another person or persons.
  • Online threats of physical harm, real or implied, intentional or not.
  • Online threats of financial or professional harm, real or implied, intentional or not.
  • Online harassment, including the creation of multiple or fake personas to circumvent protective measures on the side of the victim (such as blocking or muting).
  • Distributing sexually demeaning, illegal, inappropriate, or unnecessarily violent material amongst the community.
  • The use or creation of bots with the aim of swarming, harassing, distributing harmful material, or otherwise engaging in harmful behavior against another person or group.
  • Knowingly engaging, promoting, or selling scams designed to defraud others.

Discriminatory and damaging behavior, particularly towards marginalised groups:

  • Disparaging remarks about marginalized racial or ethnic groups
  • Racial or ethnic slurs
  • Misogynist comments
  • Homophobic or transphobic comments or slurs
  • Deliberate misgendering (e.g. using different pronouns than requested)
  • Deliberate use of names people have asked others not to use
  • Negative comments about body size or shape
  • Discriminating against pregnant people, mothers, or other birthing parents
  • Discriminatory comments against members of marginalised religions as a group
  • Negative comments or discriminating based on age or family role

Additionally, NarraScope strives to be an inclusive conference, and is always open to learning about being more inclusive. We acknowledge the systemic oppression encountered by marginalized groups at many levels of society and for many years, and ask that members are sensitive to a person's lived experience and the oppression they might structurally face. We aim at providing a space that does not contribute to/reproduce these forms of oppression, and strive to lift marginalized voices, and refrain from tone-policing or from putting the onus of education on marginalized voices. We expect participants in NarraScope to be aware of these guiding principles, as they inform our perspective and approach to content moderation, and to also follow these guidelines in their own behavior whenever participating in NarraScope.

Reporting Unacceptable Behavior

Any investigation or further action requires that explicit communication be made to NarraScope organizers / duty officers. If you are being harassed or made to feel otherwise unsafe, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a NarraScope staff member immediately. There are three ways to do so:

  • Send a direct message on Discord to a member of NarraScope’s organizing team. They can be identified by their color/role on Discord.
  • Send an email to coc@narrascope.org. This address has autoforwarding enabled to the members to our Incident Response Committee.
  • Use the anonymous form on our website. Including an email address is not mandatory but will allow us to provide you with updates.

Please provide as much information as you can in order to help us investigate as thoroughly as possible, i.e. nature of the violation, time at which it occurred, people involved in the incident. You will then be in contact with a member of our staff; they may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. We'll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we'll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you.

Once your report is complete, our staff will inform you that the report will be escalated to our Incident Response Committee. Your name will be shared to our response team, but not to anyone else. You won't be asked to confront anyone.

Prompt reporting is critical so that NarraScope can take action to stop the conduct before it is repeated. All complaints will be treated seriously and will be followed up promptly, with further investigation conducted where needed to confirm facts or resolve disputed facts. In conducting its investigations, NarraScope will strive to keep the identity of the individual making the report as confidential as possible outside the bounds of the investigation.

NarraScope prohibits any threats or acts of retaliation against individuals who report unacceptable behaviour or provide information in connection with a report by another individual. NarraScope considers a threat or act of retaliation to be as serious an offence as harassment itself and will handle reports of retaliation accordingly.

This Code of Conduct extends beyond the bounds of the event period. violations that occur during NarraScope, but are only reported after NarraScope, will be taken just as seriously as violations that are reported during the conference; they will be investigated as best as possible in the same way.

What happens after reporting?

When receiving a report of unacceptable behavior, NarraScope’s Incident Response Committee will review and direct appropriate follow up. Following investigation of the complaint, the Incident Response Committee will forward all materials to the conference organizer as well as make a recommendation regarding resolution. The organizer will make a final, binding decision regarding whether NarraScope’s policy has been violated and the consequences of any such violation. On behalf of NarraScope, the organizer will inform the complainant and subject of the decision.

NarraScope will strive to address complaints quickly and determine a fair and accurate response. Attendees are encouraged to take appropriate steps to ensure personal safety while the process is ongoing.

NarraScope volunteers have received training and abide by a policy available here. NarraScope Volunteers will not resolve complaints nor take immediate action, except in cases where security or law enforcement need to be contacted swiftly. NarraScope volunteers’ duty are to escalate reports to the Incident Response Committee; they will not comment on a report, will not contribute their personal thoughts on the matter, and will not be privy to the state of the discussions around a report.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

If a participant in any NarraScope activity engages in prohibited behavior, NarraScope organizers reserves the right to take any action NarraScope deems appropriate. This includes, but is not limited to, the decision to:

  • give a verbal warning to an individual;
  • remove an individual from an upcoming talk, panel, etc.;
  • remove an individual from their volunteer duty;
  • remove an individual from all NarraScope spaces, physical and virtual, without warning or refund;
  • prohibit an individual from participating in future NarraScope events;
  • prohibit an individual from participating in future NarraScope-led events;
  • exclude an individual from NarraScope leadership positions;
  • exclude any individual from deriving other benefits from NarraScope activities.

The same actions may be taken toward any individual who engages in retaliation or who knowingly makes a false allegation of harassment.

Addressing Grievances

If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Policy Against Harassment at NarraScope, you should notify advocate@narrascope.org with a concise description of your grievance. Your grievance will be thoroughly investigated. Your grievance will be handled in accordance with our existing procedures.

Warnings and Disclaimers

This Policy Against Harassment at NarraScope is not intended to limit open discussion of the merits of particular work or issues presented at NarraScope. It applies only to behavior at NarraScope.

NarraScope assumes no liability or responsibility for the actions of any member or other activity participant.

NarraScope is not responsible for protecting the safety of members or participants in NarraScope-related activities. Any individual who feels their safety is at risk due to harassment or for any other reason is encouraged to take appropriate steps to ensure personal safety.

This Policy supersedes any policy or guidelines concerning harassment issued by NarraScope, or one of its other committees or programs.

There may be situations (such as those involving Title IX issues in the United States and venue- or employer-specific policies) where an on-site person who is informed of harassment will be under an obligation to file a report with an individual or organization outside of NarraScope.

We reserve the right to take whatever steps we deem necessary in order to protect the integrity of the event and the safety of our attendees.