Anti-harassment policy devcom 2020

We at devcom GmbH have made it our mission to offer a welcoming, harassment-free experience for everyone at our events. In dedication to positive experiences for all, the following is expected behavior:

Be respectful.
Be collaborative before conflicts arise.
Refrain from harassing or demeaning behaviour and speech, as defined below.
Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert conference organizers if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violation of our anti-harassment policy.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants, exhibitors, speakers, or crew in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any event venue, including talks. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event without a refund at the discretion of the organizers or staff.

Harassment includes offensive violent, intimidating or physically threatening behavior, as well as verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, age, or other protected class status, 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 (this includes, sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances). Anyone, including sponsors, asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Exception: Discussion or images related to sex, pornography, discriminatory language, or similar is welcome if it meets all of the following criteria:

the organizers have specifically granted permission in writing,
it is necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists,
it is presented in a respectful manner, especially towards gender, sex, and minoritized people,
attendees are warned in advance in the program and respectfully given ample warning and opportunity to leave beforehand.

This exception specifically does not allow use of gratuitous sexual images as attention-getting devices or unnecessary examples. These requirements extend to advertisements related to the event, material from sponsors, and distributed at the event.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the organizers or staff may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, expulsion from the conference with no refund, or notifying law enforcements.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact our event management team immediately. Volunteers are not equipped or trained to manage reports. You will find our production office on the level of the Expo Floor. You can also contact Astrid Gooding on +49(0)170 3040354 (or astrid@devcom.global) at any time, or by anonymous form. We value your efforts to help us in creating safe, welcoming, and professional spaces for everyone.

We expect participants to follow these rules at all event venues and any related social events, including onsite and offsite events that may be private or public. Event management reserves the right to remove anyone who does not comply. Thank you!

Email address for event management: astrid@devcom.global
Conference security: See production office on the mezzanine level of the Expo.
Law enforcement: Dial 110
For 24/7 medical non-emergency situations: Dial 112
Closest hospital: Eduardus-Hospital, Custodisstraße 3-17, 50679 Cologne
Local taxi company: Taxi Ruf +49(0)221 2882, City Ruf Cologne +49(0)221 2707070

License and Attribution:
The above policies may be revised at any time by devcom GmbH and are non-negotiable. This safe space/anti-harassment policy is based on examples from trusted conferences (including A MAZE, as well as Geek Feminism Wiki and opensourcebridge.org) (released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license), and created in collaboration with The Volunteer Experience^TM.