Anti-Harassment Policy
The Rutgers Council on Children’s Literature (RUCCL) seeks to provide a safe conference environment for its attendees and has established this zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. This includes all forms of harassment, written or verbal, 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. Stalking, unwelcome photography/video, and inappropriate contact or sexual attention all fall under our definition of harassment. It applies to our entire official conference proceedings, from application process, to our One-On-One Plus conference, to post-conference business with the Council and its participating Mentors.
Code of Conduct
All participants in the RUCCL and One-on-One Plus Conference are required to comply with the following Code of Conduct. Our anti-harassment policy includes, but is 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. RUCCL continues to welcome and appreciate presentation of controversial ideas, free speech, and creative artistic expression.
Reporting Procedures
Any person who believes there has been a violation of the Anti-Harassment Policy can report the offense in one or all of the following ways:
- Report to any RUCCL Council Member. The day of the One-on-One Plus Conference, Council Members will be wearing a name badge with a blue ribbon. The Council Member will immediately convene with Denise Lang-Grant, a Council Member and professional counselor. We will then take appropriate action.
- You may submit a written complaint to our email address ruccl.org1on1@gmail.com. Complaints 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. Email will be monitored daily. RUCCL 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 RUCCL will follow up on an anonymous report with the complainant directly, as RUCCL will not have contact information for the anonymous complainant. RUCCL will make every attempt to respond to a named complainant in a timely fashion.
Non-Retaliation
The Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits retaliation against an attendee of the One-on-One Plus Conference for reporting harassment, intimidation or discrimination, or for participating in an investigation relating to any complaint made.
Confidentiality
RUCCL 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.
Evolution
RUCCL believes this policy will be an evolving document and welcomes suggestions for improvement emailed to ruccl.org1on1@gmail.com.
* RUCCL acknowledges the contributions of SCBWI for their work in developing anti-harassment policy.