Organisation Code of Conduct & Anti-Harassment Policy

GDG Sweden is dedicated to providing a harassment-free and inclusive community for everyone regardless of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected category. We do not tolerate harassment of mebers in any form. GDG Sweden takes violations of our policy seriously and will respond appropriately.

All members of GDG Sweden must abide by the following policy:

1. Be excellent to each other. We want the community to be an excellent space for everyone regardless of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected category. Treat everyone with respect. Participate while acknowledging that everyone deserves to be here -- and each of us has the right to enjoy our experience without fear of harassment, discrimination, or condescension, whether blatant or via micro-aggressions. Jokes shouldn`t demean others. Consider what you are saying and how it would feel if it were said to or about you.

2. Speak up if you see or hear something. Harassment is not tolerated, and you are empowered to politely engage when you or others are disrespected. The person making you feel uncomfortable may not be aware of what they are doing, and politely bringing their behavior to their attention is encouraged. If a member engages in harassing or uncomfortable behavior, the board members may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning or expelling the offender from the organisation with no refunds. If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact info@gdgsweden.se.

3. Harassment is not tolerated. Harassment includes, but is not limited to: verbal language that reinforces social structures of domination related to gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected category; sexual imagery in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption; offensive verbal language; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention. Members asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

4. Practice saying "Yes and" to each other. It`s a theatre improv technique to build on each other`s ideas. We all benefit when we create together.

This policy extends to all members, partners, sponsors, volunteers, event staff, etc. You catch our drift. GDG Sweden board members reserve the right to refuse membership to, or remove any person from the community at any time in its sole discretion. This includes, but is not limited to, members behaving in a disorderly manner or failing to comply with this policy, and the terms and conditions herein. If a member engages in harassing or uncomfortable behavior, the board members may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning or expelling the offender from the community.

Our zero tolerance policy means that we will look into and review every allegation of violation of our Community Guidelines and Anti-Harassment Policy and respond appropriately. Please note, while we take all concerns raised seriously, we will use our discretion as to determining when and how to follow up on reported incidents, and may decline to take any further action and/or may direct the member to other resources for resolution.

Why this policy is important

Harassment is unfortunately common. Creating an official policy aims to improve this by making it clear that harassment of anyone for any reason is not acceptable within our community. This policy may prevent harassment by clearly defining expectations for behavior, aims to provide reassurance, and encourages people who have had bad experiences to feel safe and join.

License and attribution

This policy is licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license. This policy is based on and influenced by several other community policies including: Ohio LinuxFest Anti-Harassment policy, Con Anti-Harassment Project, Geek Feminism Wiki (created by the Ada Initiative), ConfCodeofConduct.com, JSconf, Rust, Diversity in Python, and Write/Speak/Code.