We are committed to providing a welcoming, friendly, supportive, safe and professional environment for all participants our events, regardless of age, background, belief, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, identity, national origin, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics.

This code of conduct applies before, during and after our events, and in all physical and virtual spaces.

Our expectations

• By participating in our meetings and events, we expect participants to abide by this Code of Conduct and accept the procedure by which any Code of Conduct incidents are resolved.
• Please treat everyone with respect. We expect all event participants and speakers to help ensure a safe and positive experience for everyone.
• Provide your true professional identity, affiliation, and, where appropriate, contact information, at registration and during attendance and participatory sessions, as required.

Behaviours we encourage

• Use of welcoming and inclusive language
• Showing respect for different viewpoints and experience
• Graceful acceptance of constructive criticism
• Make space for others to speak and ask questions
• Appreciate that people will have different skill, levels of knowledge and expertise – be patient

Unacceptable behaviour

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory or demeaning speech/actions.
• Harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments or visual images related to age, background, belief, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, identity, national origin, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics, including those protected by law.
• Inappropriate use of sexual language or imagery.
• Real or implied threat of professional or financial damage or harm.
• Inappropriate disruption of meetings or events.
• Photographing, video or audio recording of slides, oral or poster presentations without presenter/author’s permission.
• Violating the rules and regulations of the online platform (e.g. Zoom).

Reporting incidents

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, please report this to the event organiser straight away, if you can. You can also use the Jean Golding Institute Code of Conduct Incident Report Form. The form will be reviewed by the Director and Manager and any action to address and/or resolve the issue will be communicated within one week.

However, if you prefer to raise the unacceptable behaviour to an independent party, you can contact one of the University of Bristol Acceptable Behaviour Supporters who are volunteers trained to provide an informal advisory service to staff experiencing unacceptable behaviour, bullying or harassment at work. They can also support staff who are facing allegations about their own behaviour.

Resolution of incidents

Incidents will be reviewed and if the code of conduct has been violated, the actions we take could include:

• Educating the person as to the consequences of their actions.
• Removal from the meeting or event.
• Restrictions from future meetings and events.
• Removal from mailing list or positions on committees or working groups.