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Enforcement Procedures Enforcement procedures for dealing with violations of the IBNS Meeting Code of Conduct following a report Contact Information: Contact the IBNS Central Office at [email protected] +01 830-796-9393 or 1-866-377-4416 (toll-free from within the United States) and request to talk to a member of the Ethics and Diversity Committee (a committee member can be specified, if desired, or they can be contacted directly through their institutional email address) or the IBNS President. All registered participants, staff, sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and guests have agreed to abide by the Code of Conduct. IBNS meeting attendees who invite a guest must ensure that their guest is familiar with, and abides by, the Code of Conduct. Violations of the Code of Conduct by a guest could also result in sanctions for the IBNS member who invited them to the meeting. Our official conference policies also protect the IBNS and its members against liability. The President, Ethics & Diversity Committee Chair, and at least one additional Ethics & Diversity Committee Member will determine sanctions for a documented incident upon receiving a confidential incident report and conducting an unbiased investigation of the incident (see Reporting Procedures document for protocol). If serious enforcement procedures are recommended (beyond requests to stop the behaviors), the identity of the accused should be made known to the Executive Councilors only after those sanctions have been determined. The President, Ethics & Diversity Committee Chair, and at least one additional Ethics & Diversity Committee Member should be involved in discussions of an incident. The majority must agree on the appropriate sanction(s). In addition to a demand to stop the behavior, sanctions may include (but are not limited to): Examples of behaviors resulting in formal documentation of the incident and a request to stop the behavior: a) verbal abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination, offensive gestures; b) presenting inappropriate images or language during a talk or poster (not limited to pornography, images demeaning a protected class, demeaning words); c) unwelcome conduct that is sexual in nature, such as unwanted advances, innuendos, proposition, leering, sexually suggestive comments. These behaviors also include those that are presented in a joking manner.
Examples of behaviors resulting in possible removal from the current meeting and formal documentation of the incident(s): a) repeated misconduct by the same person(s) at a single meeting or reported at multiple meetings; b) refusal to comply with requests to stop an inappropriate behavior; c) falsely accusing someone of inappropriate behaviors; d) retaliating against individuals who have submitted a complaint. These types of behaviors will also result in removal from Society leadership positions (as relevant). Examples of behaviors resulting in a ban from future meetings in addition to removal from the current meeting and formal documentation of the incident(s): a) any form of physical assault; b) actions that threaten the safety of others; c) repeated false accusations of inappropriate behaviors; d) repeatedly retaliating against individuals who have submitted a complaint. These types of behaviors will also result in removal from Society leadership positions (as relevant). Removal from the conference should be carried out by at least two Ethics & Diversity Committee Members (which may include the President and Ethics & Diversity Committee Chair), and security personnel should be called if someone refuses to leave the premises. Enforcement procedures will be imposed confidentially (e.g., meeting removal will be carried out as discreetly as possible) and any details of a report that are made public will be anonymized. The accused will also be notified of their right to appeal, in writing, to members of the IBNS Executive Council and Ethics and Diversity Committee. Recommended sanctions must stand until the appeals process is complete. Enforcement procedures adopted from The Council of Evolution Societies: https://www.evolutionmeetings.org/uploads/4/8/8/0/48804503/reporting.pdf. |