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Code of Conduct Enforcement Policy.md

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Code of Conduct Enforcement Policy

Upon receiving a report

When a member of staff receives a report of a violation of the code of conduct they should:

  1. Provide a safe, private space to listen and take down details if the report is made in person
  2. Ask for and write down details including
    • who was involved (reporter, victim, violater, others around) — names and contact info
    • where the incident took place
    • when the incident took place
    • what happened
    • any important history or context
    • if the issue is ongoing
  3. Unilaterally take any immediate action necessary to ensure safety and comfort of the reporter, for example:
    • removing the violator from the class and/or the group chat
    • listening to anything in addition to the above details that the reporter would like to say about the issue
  4. Report incident to the other staff members, EXCEPT:
    • if there are any staff the reporter is uncomfortable knowing any information in the report
    • any staff implicated in the report
  5. Arrange a time to talk with included staff members within 48 hours
    • if it is possible to meet immediately, meet immediately
    • if a time within 48 hours cannot be found, find one as soon as possible and tell the reporter what timeline we will be able to meet on

Considerations on what action to take

  • How serious was the offense? Examples:
    • An inappropriate joke made privately may just need a private verbal warning and an explanation of how consequences will escalate for repeat violations
    • A similar joke made publicly may require that same warning and consequence explanation made publicly
    • A repeat offense of any sort should be considered serious and result in at least a one-day ban
    • An assault should result in expulsion
  • Does the offense suggest future similar behavior?
  • Do we make consequences private or public?
    • If we deal with it privately, will other people who know about the offense think we did nothing about it and thus were okay with it?
      • From "How to Respond to Code of Conduct Reports" by Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner: At a minimum, everyone who knows about the violation of the code of conduct should see the community's response to the violation.
    • If we deal with it publicly, will it put more of a spotlight on it than the victim is comfortable with?
  • Is it a first offense? Has the offender already been told not to do what they did?
    • If so, recommend consequences be escalated from what they were for the previous incident and involve a ban from the space for at least one day
  • If the offense happened in a space not directly associated with us, how will it impact students' experiences inside our spaces?
  • What will our actions say to possible future victims thinking about whether or not to report similar behavior in the future?
  • Is the action we take more likely to make our community feel welcoming to people who are okay with this behavior or to people who are not okay with this behavior?

Possible actions

  • Verbal warning
  • Have staff address the issue with the rest of the class — what happened, why it was unacceptable, what we are doing about it, where to direct feedback if students feel we aren't handling it the right way
  • Ban the offender from the next class and/or review session
  • Ban the offender from extracurricular events (Hack & Learns, etc.)
  • Expel the offender from the program with a prorated refund
  • Expel the offender from the program without a refund
  • Specify what the consequences of a repeat offense will be
  • Specify that the consequences of any retaliation against the victim or reporter will be expulsion

Upon reaching a decision

  • Talk to the reporter and victim first, ask if they feel comfortable with the decision
  • Talk to the offender
  • If you intend to discuss the incident with the broader class/community, consider how to share it in a way that preserves people's privacy (for example, keeping people anonymous), and ask victim, reporter, and offender if they have any feelings about how it is discussed and/or what information is shared
  • Discuss the incident with the broader community, if that is what has been decided on
  • Give everyone involved, including the broader community if it is discussed with them, an explicit place to give feedback about how it was handled, and remind them where they can report future issues