Hello everyone!
Anne thought it would be helpful if I presented an intro to this topic, in the interest of kicking off the discussion. As a somewhat neutral party that was not directly involved in any of the precipitating events, and who was also not a major player in the Facebook discussion, I’ve done my best to try to represent this issue, and the concerns of those involved, fairly and accurately. The issue of Codes of Conduct at conventions recently came up on FB and the discussion quickly melted down into a very emotional and heated exchange that was not only not productive but quite polarizing and upsetting to many. It’s terribly unfortunate because the primary objective was completely lost. And the objective, at its core, was to advocate for the adoption of Codes of Conduct at conventions. The purpose of moving this topic to the O list is to hopefully foster a more productive and respectful discussion of this important topic. There is no agenda here, but there are some objectives. These are: 1. Engage in a respectful discussion about Codes of Conduct. What they are, what they do, how they may be developed, structured, implemented, and so forth. This is important to ensure we at least all know the basics about what it is we are discussing. Here is one helpful primer: https://www.ashedryden.com/blog/codes-of-conduct-101-faq? 1. Engage in a respectful discussion about the issue of harassment. What this is, what it can look like, why some people are concerned about this issue in the origami community, how it relates to a Code of Conduct, and so on. 1. Allow people an opportunity to discuss their personal opinions about why this is important to them and / or what their personal concerns are regarding having Codes of Conduct at origami conventions. 1. Allow people to present factual data and expert opinions about the benefits and/or drawbacks of Codes of Conduct. 1. The purpose here is NOT to develop a consensus on this forum, but rather to begin a dialogue about this in a respectful, productive way that addresses everyone’s questions and concerns. 1. We also do NOT want to discuss what happened on FB or continue that conversation. This is an effort to step back from that and focus on the larger issue. *Where is this all coming from?* A few years ago, some women began discussing the issue of harassment at conventions. People who had personally experienced this began talking to others and then reaching out to even more folks to ask about their experiences. What emerged was a growing awareness that, unfortunately, there were women who had had negative experiences at conventions that fall under this broad but somewhat ill-defined umbrella of harassment. And to be clear, this is not just about women, but this is how the conversation started. Out of this, a few people reached out to some organizations to inquire about establishing some Codes of Conduct at conventions to address this issue. The goal was two-fold: to ensure that there were more clear boundaries set regarding behavior and, perhaps more importantly, to provide a process by which these incidents are handled. The impetus was never due to the notion that any particular convention was unsafe, or that there were incidents that occurred at any particular convention, or that reported incidents were being ignored or mishandled at any convention. The reality was that some women who had personally experienced harassment were having second thoughts about attending conventions due to past experiences. This alone was the impetus for reaching out to convention organizers to inquire about and advocate for the adoption of Codes of Conduct. CenterFold was one of the organizations that was contacted. And to be very clear, nothing specific happened at Centerfold that initiated this request. To put this in an even larger context, many non-origami convention communities have been moving towards developing Codes of Conduct because of the growing realization that this is just good policy. No specific incidents or triggers need to have happened to legitimize their need. It’s a cultural shift that is happening in other communities as well, as people become aware that harassment occurs more often than people realize and that victims are often afraid to report incidents unless there are procedures in place for doing so. This is my understanding of all this, to the best of my knowledge. When I first heard about all of this, I was personally quite taken aback. I imagine it may be surprising and upsetting for some of you to learn that these kinds of issues could be happening in our close-knit community. But the hope is that by raising awareness of these issues, we can take a positive step towards ensuring that everyone feels welcome and safe within our community. Thank you all for your time.This is my very first post on the O-list, by the way. Diving straight into the deep end! Beth Johnson
