Code of Conduct

AaRC - Animal aDNA Research Community

• All attendees and members of AaRC are expected to be respectful towards all members regardless of background, and actively participate in creating a welcoming and friendly community.
• Unacceptable or illegal behaviour will not be tolerated and the organisers reserve the right to remove anyone violating the Code of Conduct from both in-person or online channels.
• If at any point you feel unsafe or the code of conduct is violated, please contact any of the following AaRC members who will deal with any issues respectfully and anonymously, as required.

This is only for guidance, and the main body of this page is the enforceable document.

1. Purpose

A primary goal of AaRC is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and religion (or lack thereof).

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for all those who participate in our community, both online and in person, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behaviour.

All attendees at our events are required to agree to and comply with the following code of conduct. Organisers will enforce this code throughout the events. We expect cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe and positive environment for everybody.

2. Citizenship

A supplemental goal of this Code of Conduct is to increase ‘citizenship’ by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between our actions and their effects on our community.

Communities mirror the societies in which they exist and positive action is essential to counteract the many forms of inequality and abuses of power that exist in society.

If you see someone who is making an extra effort to ensure our community is welcoming, friendly, and encourages all participants to contribute to the fullest extent, we want to know (either in person, Slack, or email - see section 8).

3. Expected Behaviour

The following behaviours are expected and requested of all community members:

• Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.

• Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.

• Attempt to respectfully resolve issues before conflicts arise.

• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour and speech.

• Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert organisers if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.

• Remember that in-person events may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

4. Unacceptable Behaviour

The following behaviours are considered harassment and are unacceptable within and outside our community, both in person and online:

• Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.

• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.

• Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.

• Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxxing”).

• Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.

• Inappropriate photography or recording.

• Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them.

• Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances.

• Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person).

• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour.

• Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.

• Furthermore, we will follow all legal guidance from the European Commission on non-discrimination

5. Consequences of Unacceptable Behaviour

Unacceptable behaviour from any community member, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately.

If a community member engages in unacceptable behaviour, the community organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the event and/or online community without warning (and without refund in the case of any payments).

6. Reporting Guidelines

If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please notify any of the community organisers (see section 8) as soon as possible. Organisers will ensure that the report can be given in a safe space, and will be recorded as respectfully as possible.

In the context of in-person events, organisers are available to help attendees engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behaviour feel safe.

7. Scope

We expect all participants (contributors, paid or otherwise, and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues - online and in-person - as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to community business.

This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behaviour occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behaviour has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.

8. Contact info

AaRC Safety Office is composed of three AaRC members. These officers are a mixture of committee and non-committee members:

• Stephanie - Steering Committee member

• Deborah Diquelou - Volunteer

• Lauren Clark - Volunteer

To report any violation you can contact any of the members of the AaRC Safety Office directly through Slack, send an email to safety.aarc.community@gmail.com or fill out the anonymous report form (under construction).

9. License and attribution

This is modified after the Code of Conduct distributed by Stumptown Syndicate and Conf Code of Conduct under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.

Portions of text derived from the Django Code of Conduct and the Geek Feminism Anti-Harassment Policy.