Review Code of Conduct and all policies

[jefftriplett]

Our Code of Conduct is based on PyCon's and we need to review it and adapt the procedures of handling harassment.

Reference: https://us.pycon.org/2015/about/code-of-conduct/

[kevindaum]

Do you still want/need attention on this?

[jefftriplett]

Hey Kevin, we have made some changes to ours over the past month and I want to actually step through what happens and how we should respond in case of an incident. Here is what we have: https://2015.djangocon.us/code_of_conduct/ -- I'm definitely open to feedback and improvements.

[williln]

A couple of resources in this Twitter thread.

In particular, I like the Suncoast CoC and how it gives multiple means of communication for the people to contact.

I would like it if we had more information about the specifics of what will happen when someone violates the CoC, i.e.

1. Someone reports that they or someone else has experienced a violation of the CoC.
2. We speak to the person who experienced the harassment/violation. (We also make available diverse people to report to, and make it clear that a reporter can request to report to someone of a particular gender if it makes them more comfortable.)
3. We speak to the person who violated the CoC.
4. Depending on the violation, that person will be warned or asked to leave the conference. (Are there other steps we will/could take other than those two? What sorts of violations result in immediate expulsion from the conference?)
5. If the person who experienced harassment wishes to report the violation to law enforcement, we will assist that person however we can.

This is all off the top of my head, so I'm definitely open to including more/less detail, or other steps, or different steps, etc.

[williln]

See also: The "internal" communication of the CoC for conference staff at the Geek Feminism wiki, in particular:

Any member of conference staff can issue a verbal warning to a participant that their behavior violates the conference's anti-harassment policy. Warnings should be reported to [insert email address/phone number/etc. here] as soon as practical. The report should include:

• Identifying information (name/badge number) of the participant
• The time you issued the warning
• The behavior that was in violation
• The approximate time of the behavior (if different than the time of warning)
• The circumstances surrounding the incident
• Your identity
• Other people involved in the incident

Also:

Taking reports When taking a report from someone experiencing harassment you should record what they say and reassure them they are being taken seriously, but avoid making specific promises about what actions the organizers will take. Ask for any other information if the reporter has not volunteered it (such as time, place) but do not pressure them to provide it if they are reluctant. Even if the report lacks important details such as the identity of the person taking the harassing actions, it should still be recorded and passed along to the appropriate staff member(s). If the reporter desires it, arrange for an escort by conference staff or a trusted person, contact a friend, and contact local law enforcement. Do not pressure the reporter to take any action if they do not want to do it. Respect the reporter's privacy by not sharing unnecessary details with others, especially individuals who were not involved with the situation or non-staff members.

Expulsion A participant may be expelled by the decision of any of the above listed entities for whatever reasons they deem sufficient. However, here are some general guidelines for when a participant should be expelled:

• A [first/second/third/seventeenth] offense resulting in a warning from staff
• Continuing to harass after any "No" or "Stop" instruction
• A pattern of harassing behavior, with or without warnings
• A single serious offense (e.g., punching or groping someone)
• A single obviously intentional offense (e.g., taking up-skirt photos)

[williln]

Change I would make to our CoC:

Remember that sexist, racist, and other exclusionary jokes can be offensive to those around you.

to

Sexist, racist, and other exclusionary jokes are offensive, and are not acceptable at DjangoCon.

and

If the matter is especially urgent, please call/contact any of these individuals:

Include the following:

• Phone number
• Email address
• Twitter handle

Also make it clear that they can tweet at the DjangoCon twitter account, or use the "Contact us" link, both of which will be monitored throughout the conference.

[ossanna16]

+1 for everything Lacey mentioned.

A couple of suggestions:

• If I read correctly so far our CoC doesn't mention physical violations (only verbal ones, or display of sexual material etc.) Maybe we should add that?
• Does the CoC only apply for the time people are present at the conference or also for what happens outside of the conference, like dinners, conference parties etc.? I know at Django Under the Hood there was a pretty bad incident which happened at the hotel in the evening which was reported to the CoC team.
• It would be important to have at least one male and one female contact person available (in different ways: Twitter, email, phone call etc.) at all times. So far the CoC only mentions Jeff's number and a number to reach a DEFNA board member (it's not specified if this person is male or female).
• Maybe we could also add a safe place that people can go to to our CoC?
• We should definitely think about having some internal rules about which CoC violations lead to which kind of actions on our side.
• All conference staff should be familiar with what to do in case of a CoC violation.

[williln]

Re: does our CoC mention physical violations?

... deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

But that could be clearer, I agree.

Re: Does the CoC apply outside the conference; yes. But I think that "at the conference hotel and with conference attendees" could be made clearer; this wording might not cover an elevator encounter in the hotel, for example.

Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees throughout the conference and at all conference events, whether officially sponsored by DjangoCon or not.

Re: multiple people to report to. I agree! I will be a report-to person, but my info isn't up there yet. I need to see about getting a Google Voice number, as I'm not comfortable having my actual number up there.

+1 on your other comments, too. I made a Trello card, and developing internal rules and reporting procedures, and training all conference staff on how to implement them, are on it.

[ossanna16]

Thank you, Lacey! :)

At EuroPython last year people used a special cell phone provided by the conference organizers to answer CoC calls. It would be fairly cheap to get one of those prepaid cell phones if we wanted to do this.

[craigbruce]

So far the CoC only mentions Jeff's number and a number to reach a DEFNA board member (it's not specified if this person is male or female).

The DEFNA board member is a google voice number that will ring Jeff, Stacey and myself. Not sure we can guarantee who will answer first. Probably best being the third option.

[jefftriplett]

I added my google voice as a starting point. Random thoughts:

• I'm a little worried about harassment / potential for abuse so we should make a point of having any numbers listed here by a Google Voice number so the number isn't a permanent number. I'm throwing out GV because they are free and easy to work with.
• Distinct female contact number.
• Organizer's contact number (DEFNA and probably mine but maybe DEFNA is fine).

[kevindaum]

Have you thought about having registrants sign the CoC when they register online and/or when they arrive at the event?

[craigbruce]

I've not heard of that before, definitely an interesting idea because as a speaker I've had to agreed to CoC before but not an attendee.

[ossanna16]

I like the idea! We could ask attendees to sign the CoC when they pick up their badges.

[jefftriplett]

It's a great idea. My preference is to make people agree to the CoC as part of buying a ticket which I looked into. At the time, it made sense like Craig said, if we are going to have speakers agree then we should ask everyone.

I tried to set it up with Eventbrite's registration system and there was no way to make it required or part of the first screen. The option showed up on the second screen and it was easy to skip.

I'm :+1: adopting the requirement but I'm concerned that it's going to be logistically a nightmare to track 300 pieces of paper at the event. However, this does bring up the point that we do not have the CoC referenced on our registration page or the Eventbrite page itself which we need to fix.

[williln]

However, this does bring up the point that we do not have the CoC referenced on our registration page or the Eventbrite page itself which we need to fix.

I can add a link to the CoC from the registration page, maybe saying,

By registering for DjangoCon, you agree to abide by the Code of Conduct at all events, whether officially sponsored by the conference or not.

[jefftriplett]

Great, I'll add it to Eventbrite now too. :+1:

[ossanna16]

Awesome :) What about the people who already registered? Do we make them aware of it somehow?

[williln]

Added link and language directly below registration link on registration page.

Per @ossanna16: maybe an email? "Thank you for registering! We want you to feel comfortable and proud to attend DjangoCon, so please review our Code of Conduct and know that all attendees will be expected to abide by it."

[ossanna16]

Sounds good!

[jefftriplett]

We'll shoot everyone an email too before the conference and we can add similar language as a reminder too.

[x] Eventbrite updated.