Official SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is dedicated to providing a safe and harassment-free environment for all of its members and has a zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. This includes all harassment, intimidation, and discrimination made on the basis of race, age, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, religion, class, body size, veteran status, marital/domestic partnership status, citizenship or any other marginalized identity. Harassment includes verbal comments, written comments, displayed images, or behaviors such as deliberate intimidation, stalking, body policing, unwelcome photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

The SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy applies to all situations where the harassment, intimidation, or discrimination denies or limits a person’s ability to fully participate in or benefit from SCBWI’s programs and activities and is applicable to all SCBWI events and all SCBWI venues, including but not limited to SCBWI events, conferences, meetings, meet-ups, critique groups, and online interactions. Harassment, intimidation, and discrimination at any SCBWI event, any one of the foregoing events, or on-line is prohibited.

Code of Conduct

All participants in SCBWI events and activities, including faculty, staff, and attendees, are required to comply with the following anti-harassment code of conduct. The SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits harassment, including but not limited to the following behaviors:

-Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following.

-Sustained disruption of talks or other events.

-Inappropriate physical contact.

-Unwelcome sexual attention.

-Abusive verbal comments.

-Quid pro quo – sexual harassment that occurs when one in an authority position requests sex or a sexual relationship in exchange for professional consideration or favors.

Harassment does not include respectful disagreement or reasonable and respectful critique made in good faith. SCBWI continues to welcome and appreciate presentation of controversial ideas, free speech, and creative artistic expression. SCBWI encourages members to hold one another accountable to the Code of Conduct and to take the perspectives of others seriously when a disagreement arises.

Reporting Procedures

Any person who believes there has been a violation of the SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy can report the offense in one or all of the following ways:

-All SCBWI conferences will designate one or more Anti-Harassment Monitors (AHM) who will be available during the conference to provide a safe space for reporting and discussion. The AHM will report directly to the conference director.

-A complainant may request assistance from any SCBWI officer, employee, or regional team member.

-SCBWI has a dedicated email address for reporting any incident of harassment. Anyone who chooses to report an incident can find the Anti-Harassment Report Form on the SCBWI website (About > Anti-Harassment) or use the following link: https://www.scbwi.org/anti-harassment-report-form/. Reports can be filed out anonymously or with identifying information. Reports should include the substance of the complaint, date, and whenever possible, a list of witnesses or a reference to the relevant URLs, if the offense occurred online. Emails will be monitored at all times, including during SCBWI events. SCBWI will fully investigate all complaints, including those made anonymously, and take whatever action is necessary and appropriate to prevent a recurrence. Please note however, that SCBWI will not be able to follow up on an anonymous report with the complainant directly, as SCBWI will not have contact information for the anonymous complainant. SCBWI will make every attempt to respond to a named complainant in a timely fashion.

Non-Retaliation

The SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits retaliation against a member of the SCBWI community for reporting harassment, intimidation or discrimination, or for participating in an investigation relating to any complaint made. The sanctions for retaliation are the same sanctions available to address any other violation of the SCBWI Anti-Harassment Policy.

Sanctions

SCBWI takes all allegations of harassment seriously. Every report will be investigated by a panel consisting of board members, SCBWI staff, and members at large. The results of the investigation and the recommendations of the panel will be reported to the officers of SCBWI, who will determine, in conjunction with the panel or, when appropriate, in consultation with an independent arbiter, the appropriate sanction.

Sanctions for faculty, speakers, staff or board members may include any of the following:

-warning the party involved that the particular behavior is inappropriate and must be ceased;

-immediate removal from the event;

-denial of access to SCBWI spaces and venues on a temporary or permanent basis;

-withholding of a contracted honorarium;

-prohibition from future speaking engagements;

-prohibition from future faculty appointments;

-expulsion from SCBWI;

-removal from the Board of Advisors or Board of Directors, when appropriate

Sanctions for attendees, members, and guests can include any of the following:

-warning the party involved that specified behavior is inappropriate and must be ceased;

-immediate removal from the event, without refund;

-denial of access to SCBWI spaces and venues on a permanent or temporary basis;

-termination of SCBWI membership, without refund;

-prohibition future SCBWI membership

Confidentiality

SCBWI will make every reasonable effort to conduct all investigations into allegations of harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of all parties. Notwithstanding the above, confidentiality is not absolute, and those with a legitimate business reason to know and be informed of the allegations will be so informed. Parties to the complaint should treat the matter under investigation with discretion and respect the reputation of all parties involved.

* SCBWI acknowledges the contributions of Geek Feminism, Science Fiction Writers of America, and WisCon for their work in developing anti-harassment policies.

If you wish to file a complaint or an anonymous complaint, CLICK HERE to access the Anti-harassment Report Form.