Safety at Norwescon

Norwescon Safety Improvements in Progress

Norwescon is working on new policies to make its safety procedures more transparent to the membership. Here are some changes in the works for 2023.

Safety Feed

Norwescon has not previously had a mechanism to distribute time-critical safety information to membership. For Norwescon 45 we will implement a Twitter feed allowing members to access timely information about safety reports from around the convention. Followers of the Twitter feed will receive alerts, which can also be transmitted via email.

Code of Conduct Revisions

Norwescon’s Code of Conduct lays out clear expectations of behavior for convention members. To add additional clarity, we are considering revisions to include a list of actions which will result in immediate removal from the convention. These may include actions such as:

  • Physical or sexual assault
  • Directed racial slurs
  • Intentional violation of peace bonding
  • Covert photography or recording of another member

What are your thoughts? What else should we consider? Write to safety@norwescon.org.

Code of Conduct Process Transparency

The process for investigating Code of Conduct reports going forward will be referred to as the Code of Conduct process. Here are two substantial areas of change for Norwescon 45:

  • Composition of Code of Conduct Team. The Code of Conduct process will include a fact-finding team made up of volunteers. Two team members must be present for any in-person fact-finding activity. When Code of Conduct team members are assigned to a fact-finding, one of the two members may be removed and replaced by request of the member whose conduct is the subject of the report.
  • Visibility of Investigations. The Code of Conduct team will publish the following information about all Code of Conduct complaints in a location visible to membership:
    • Date of the incident
    • Date of the report
    • Brief description of subject matter
    • Whether this is a repeat report against a member during the convention year
    • Date fact-finding began
    • Date fact-finding was completed
    • Date report was closed
    • Action that was taken

We welcome feedback about the Code of Conduct and safety processes at safety@norwescon.org.