Code of conduct (what is)
Guidelines against misconduct, mistreatment, harassment or any other form of discrimination (based on gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, age, disability or religion/creed) in online and onsite Transmitting Science events.
Purpose
Transmitting Science (TS) is committed to providing a safe and inclusive space, with respectful and equitable treatment for everyone. This code is meant to guide the permanent staff, collaborators, instructors, participants of courses, workshops and any other event (from now on “events”), as well as people who might be involved with, attend and/or participate in any event or activities organised or co-organised by this entity.
Approach and principles
This code draws on an intersectional perspective, considering the interlocking character of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, age, disability and religion/creed as axes of discrimination and oppression. The code revolves around the principles of prevention, detection, intervention, support, reparation, guarantees of non-retaliation and non-repetition.
Not acceptable conduct at TS
Scope
TS will not accept any kind of inappropriate conduct, behaviour, act, practice and interaction happening at both onsite and online events, being verbal or physical, in a horizontal or vertical modality.
Wide-ranging inappropriate conduct
TS will understand as a violation and code breach the following forms of inappropriate conduct that – related with gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, age, disability and religion/creed – could take place in spaces, courses and other events, namely professional dishonesty; mistreatment; diminishing comments; derogatory jokes; hate speech; privacy violations; defamation; stalking; threatening; blackmailing; labour harassment; sexual harassment; unwanted, undesired or unauthorized touching; assault; rape; retaliation.
Vertical and horizontal
We will take into account the position, rank and institutional relation of the individuals involved in a code breach, considering aggravating the abuse of power happening in vertical modalities.
Online and On-site
Given the hybrid character of the activities and events organised by TS, we contemplate online and onsite scenarios in which these forms of discrimination can take place.
Emotional and Physical
TS understands that discrimination and violence have both emotional and physical, symbolic and material effects, regardless of the nature of the offensive or abusive treatment.
Principles
TS is committed to the principles of accountability, responsiveness, confidentiality, transparency, resolution and evaluation in case of incident-based reporting.
Informal Reporting Scenarios
If a person attending any event organized by TS suffer any kind of breach of the code of conduct, this person can contact one of the members of the Anti-Discrimination Committee to do an informal report of the situation. Informal reports do not imply a response and formal evaluation of the situation. Informal reports can be transformed into formal reports is the person decide to do so later on.
Formal reporting scenarios
TS is, at all times, responsible for responding to an incident-case report. The intervention will depend on the different scenarios and modalities in which faults and code violations occur:
a) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event, and the agents involved are participants (horizontal dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the course coordinator, who will elevate the complaint to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
b) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event, and the instructor is the subject of complaint (vertical dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the course coordinator, who will elevate the complaint to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
c) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event, and one or more participants are the subject of complaint by the instructor (vertical dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the course coordinator, who will elevate the complaint to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
d) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event, and one or more participants are the subject of complaint by the coordinator (vertical dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
e) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event, and the coordinator is the subject of complaint (vertical dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
f) If the incident takes place at an online or onsite TS event between instructors or coordinators (horizontal dynamics), the complaint/report will be referred to the Anti-discrimination Committee.
Any consultation with a coordinator or a person from the Anti-discrimination committee comes with an assurance of anonymity unless or until consent is expressly given. Whoever receives anonymous complaints, that person will pass them to the rest of the Anti-discrimination Committee who will consider, record and monitor them.
Transmitting Science Anti-discrimination Committee
Specifically established for this matter, the Committee, following the above-mentioned principles, will be in charge of investigation, fact-finding, fact-checking, resolution (upheld or dismissed report) and action (support, arbitration and sanction). The Committee is comprised by senior members and trained staff. If an individual from the committee is involved in the complaint, that individual will be excluded from the procedure.
Response, resolution and action
If the Committee upholds an incident-based report, the undertaken actions will depend on the scale, scenario, and modality of the code violation. In any case, the Committee will take into account the interests and needs of the complainants, guaranteeing their safety and preventing them for suffering any kind of retaliation. That is why confidentiality is one of the key principles in TS procedures. In addition, the process of resolution will always be carried out with transparency, avoiding any sort of conflict of interest and bad-faith decisions.
Response
The wide-ranging response TS could give ranges from arbitration between the parts/agents involved (being horizontal or vertical dynamics) to specific sanctions (expulsion and dismissal).
Incident-based actions
The actions that the Committee can take, vary according to the level of the breach/violation itself. Thus, TS may bring into force four stages of action:
- Wake-up call to the offender/perpetrator.
- Mediation talks with the parts involved (if possible and authorised by the parts).
- Expulsion of the offender/perpetrator from ongoing activities, courses and events.
- Prohibition of the offender/perpetrator from upcoming events.
Anti-Discrimination Committee
Specifically established for this matter, the Committee, following the above-mentioned principles, will be in charge of investigation, fact-finding, fact-checking, resolution (upheld or dismissed report) and action (support, arbitration and sanction). The Committee is comprised by senior members and trained staff. If an individual from the committee is involved in the complaint, that individual will be excluded from the procedure.
Communication Manager
Email: ar.gomezcano@transmittingscience.com
Anti-Discrimination Committee Contact email
Reporting procedures
Any individual that experienced any of the mentioned inappropriate conducts (or any other kind of disrespectful or abusive treatment not categorised in this code) in the context of any event organised by TS is welcome to inform and report the incident to TS.
This person can contact one of the members of the Anti-Discrimination Committee to do an informal report of the situation. Informal reports do not imply a response and formal evaluation of the situation. Informal reports can be transformed into formal reports is the person decide to do so later on.
The formal report is the only procedure that, following the Anti-Discrimination Committee evaluation, would allow TS to take actions regarding offenders/perpetrators, bystanders, and victims. Nevertheless, if the victim do not want to issue a formal report, this person can always approach the Anti-Discrimination Committee in an informal way. The victim can reach the committee at their personal email address or at the specific contact of the committee.
Any reporting procedure will be loyal to the confidentiality principle. All the information will be treated respecting and protecting the identity of parts involved (complainants, offenders/perpetrators, witnesses) until the incident and subsequent investigation are resolved and those involved notified.
Anti-Discrimination Committee
Communication Manager
Email: ar.gomezcano@transmittingscience.com
Anti-Discrimination Committee Contact email
