How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports
Valerie Aurora
How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports
Free
Description
Contents
Reviews

This comprehensive guide includes:


  • Basic code of conduct theory

  • How to prepare to enforce a code of conduct

  • Step-by-step instructions on how to respond to a report

  • In-depth discussion of relevant topics

  • Dozens of real-world examples of responding to reports

Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner were the lead authors of the Ada Initiative anti­-harassment policy, which is the basis of thousands of codes of conduct in use today. Valerie has more than 8 years of professional experience writing and implementing codes of conduct for software-related companies, venture capital firms, and non-profits. For more information on code of conduct training and consulting, click here.

“As part of co-chairing an international conference which did not have a code of conduct in its earlier editions, I have to write a principled and precise code of conduct as well as respond to reports. This book was an invaluable help, as I had no previous training in this area. This book is an important contribution to making academia a safer and more welcoming place. I recommended it to many of my colleagues.” —Vincent Lostanlen, postdoctoral fellow at Cornell Lab of Ornithology

“I highly recommend Val Aurora’s new book on code of conduct enforcement. Until reading it I had no idea how unprepared I’d been to deal with a code of conduct violation at the Tech Intersections conference. It was also interesting to read.” —Ellen Spertus, computer science professor at Mills College

“Valerie helped us write and adopt a code of conduct that could be a model for our industry as well as a guide for our firm. She is deeply experienced and gave nuanced, direct advice and we look forward to using her book to train our staff.” —Samantha Wong, partner at Blackbird Ventures

“Val was a trusted adviser to us as we planned and practiced responses to Code of Conduct incidents that might arise at conferences or in our open source communities. Her advice was practical and paired with a diverse set of potential scenarios to build confidence, and with it we felt prepared to act in a responsible and orderly way.” —Brandon Philips, co-founder and CTO of CoreOS

“Valerie advised us when creating the code of conduct in Wikimedia’s technical spaces. Her input was invaluable in navigating the challenge of creating a code of conduct that was co-created by our community. Her advice was practical, flexible, and informative, and empowered us to produce a code that represents our communities’ values, has a framework for updates and improvements, and continues to improve the experience of our technical contributors all over the world.” —Moriel Schottlender, Senior Software Engineer, Wikimedia Foundation

Language
English
ISBN
9781386922575
Title Page
Introduction
If you are in a hurry
How to use this guide
About the authors
Terminology
Chapter 1: Code of conduct theory
Purpose of a code of conduct
What a code of conduct should contain
How a code of conduct works
Education
Norm-following
Attraction and repulsion
Deterrence
Boundary setting
The Paradox of Tolerance
What a code of conduct can't do
Codes of conduct govern community spaces
Violations must have meaningful consequences
Codes of conduct must apply to powerful people
Visible enforcement is required
Summary
Chapter 2: Preparing to enforce a code of conduct
Publicizing the code of conduct
Identifying community members
The code of conduct committee
Choosing code of conduct committee members
Communicating with each other and the public
Choosing a decision method
Adopting an incident response guide
Record-keeping
Training the committee
Training report-takers
Avoiding or mitigating higher-risk activities
Make arrangements for legal advice
Updating code of conduct materials
Summary
Chapter 3: Responding to a report
Start the response deadline clock
Check to see if everyone is safe
Write down the report if necessary
Make a preliminary announcement if appropriate
Ask for recusals
Organize a committee meeting
Do additional research
Meet as a committee
Choose a response
Take any actions necessary to implement the response
Inform the target and harasser of the response
Communicate the response to others
Respond to criticism
Summary
Chapter 4: Discussion
What does not belong in a code of conduct
List of unacceptable behaviors
Transformative justice and codes of conduct
Recusing committee members
When individual safety conflicts with community safety
Protecting the community's reputation
Safety is more important than privacy and confidentiality
Responses not to use
Do not ask for apologies or forgiveness
Do not ask the target to decide the response
Do not mediate
Do not guard the harasser or the victim
Do not ask the harasser to stay away from the target
Holding powerful people accountable
Putting legal concerns into context
Responding to incomplete or late reports
Investigating the incident
Impact is more important than intent
Distinguishing good intent from bad intent
DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender
Judging competing claims of marginalization
Social awkwardness and harassment
Mental health and harassment
Children, caregivers, and harassment
Sexual behavior and communities
Alcohol and drugs
Choosing a proportional response
If a harasser refuses to follow the code of conduct
Responding to protest from the alleged harasser
Communicating the response to others
Responding to criticism
Dealing with attacks on the committee or community
Summary
Chapter 5: Examples of responding to reports
Wikimania 2012 sexualized presentation
DjangoCon EU 2017 transparency report
Denial of validity of code of conduct
Harmful question during a talk
Sexist comment on clothing
Photographer creates awkward situation
Write the Docs EU 2016 transparency report
Attendee uses derogatory term
Inappropriate joke in talk
PyGotham 2017 transparency report
Self-report of an ambiguous joke
Attendee denies making off-color joke
Volunteer overwhelmed by requests
Attendee makes unwelcome advance
Bad-faith code of conduct report
Racist comments at a conference
Oppressive comments in online chat
Anonymized conference transparency report
Attendee invites women to hotel room under pretext
Inappropriate touch reported after conference ended
Unwanted sexual advance
Inappropriate touch
Inappropriate pulling on clothing
Drupal community incident
Background
Precipitating incident
Response
Analysis
Conclusion
Summary
Learn more
Acknowledgements
Appendix 1: Additional resources
Appendix 2: Report-taking form
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