Code of Conduct

Glasgow 2024 Code of Conduct

By participating in and/or interacting with any/all Glasgow 2024 activities, regardless of Occasion Venue or format, you agree that you have carefully read and agreed to this Code of Conduct.

This is version 3.0, approved May 2024.

Glasgow 2024, A Worldcon For Our Futures (“Glasgow 2024”), believes that a Code of Conduct (“CoC” or “Code”) helps to make our community one that is welcoming to all fans. Set aside a few minutes to carefully review and understand our CoC, both the short and the long versions, as well as our related policies and statements which are important addenda to the overall CoC.

Code of Conduct: The Short Version

See the Long Version for definitions, examples, and further information. You are ultimately responsible for following the Long Version.

Each Occasion hosted by Glasgow 2024 actively promotes safety, comfort, and enjoyment for all Attendees, especially representatives from marginalised groups, whether their membership in a given group is obvious or not. The Policies we put in place apply everywhere, whether the Occasion is held online or in-person. Those who break them may experience a range of consequences from their actions or inactions.

Glasgow 2024 does not and will not tolerate any form of harassment of any Participant or Venue Staff, nor risk the Occasion itself because of the actions of a small number of disrupters.

Code of Conduct: The Long Version

About this Code of Conduct

This CoC seeks to create a safer space by discouraging anti-social behaviour and helping everyone to feel comfortable. It also guides us as to the behavioural standards we hope to see from those attending our events, and how to act when these are not met. Glasgow 2024 prioritises marginalised peoples’ safety over privileged peoples’ comfort.

We reserve the right to refuse admission and/or cancel Memberships, without refund, of anyone who is in violation of the Glasgow 2024 Code of Conduct.

The CoC is a living document and we expect it to change over time to reflect changes in and beyond fandom as well as the convention ethos. We welcome feedback and suggestions for improvement; please feel free to contact us at coc@glasgow2024.org so we can review your suggestion and potentially include it in future versions.

What is expected of you

  • Read and follow this CoC. Ask your friends to read it as well.
  • Continue to follow the CoC when under the influence.
    • You remain responsible when drinking, ingesting, consuming, or otherwise subjecting yourself to substances that may negatively impact your behaviour.
    • Failure to be responsible in these activities does not relieve you of your responsibility to abide by this CoC.
  • Ask first! The easiest way to avoid issues is to check before doing something, and it only takes a moment.
  • Remember that both Glasgow 2024 Team and Attendees come from all over the world. Cross-cultural misunderstanding can easily happen, so consider this in your humour and interactions, both online and in-person.

Terms defined

For the purposes of this CoC, the following terms will be used:

  • Anyone and/or Everyone includes Participants and Venue Staff for all Occasions.
  • An Occasion is any circumstance where two or more people are interacting in a space that is hosted, sponsored, or otherwise under the auspices of Glasgow 2024. This includes, but is not limited to, outreach functions, parties, and meetings, specifically including these functions when held at any convention.
  • An Occasion Venue is the space where any portion of any Occasion takes place, as well as any overflow space(s) that may be utilised. The following are a few examples:
    • Pre-con parties: the room(s) where the party is happening;
    • Pre-con pub gatherings: the section(s) of the pub set aside for the gathering.
    • Pre-con booths or tables: the area immediately around the designated space.
    • During Glasgow 2024: all portions of the SEC where the Convention is occupying space, additional Occasion Venues (e.g., hotel meeting rooms, theatres, etc.) where con-organised or -sponsored activities are occurring, and all con-related online forums. This specifically includes booths, tables, or any similar spaces.
    • Glasgow 2024 Discord channels, facebook groups, and other social media sites run by the convention.
  • Teams and Team Members include all Glasgow 2024 volunteers, staff, and committee members, whether they are participating on-site or online.
  • Attendees include all persons present at the Occasion including, but not limited to, members, exhibitors, artists, and vendors.
  • Participants include Team Members and Attendees.
  • Venue Staff includes all employees and contractors of Glasgow 2024 Occasion Venues, including but not limited to convention centre and hotel employees, catering staff, and security staff.
    • Venue Staff are protected by this CoC in the same way that Participants are, regardless of whether they are aware of the existence of this CoC.

Jurisdiction of this Code of Conduct

When any interaction occurs or is witnessed by any reasonable person who might believe that the Occasion is hosted or sponsored by Glasgow 2024, then this CoC is in effect for all Participants.

When This Code of Conduct (or Another) Is in Effect

This CoC applies to any and all aspects of the Glasgow 2024 convention, whether they are in person, online, or hybrid. This includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • Any and all Glasgow 2024 Occasions, both before and after the Convention itself, are covered by this CoC.
  • Any and all Glasgow 2024 electronic forums, whether they are on Glasgow 2024 social media, a convention-specific online platform, or elsewhere.
  • Any and all Glasgow 2024 Occasions and Occasion Venues where one or more Team Members are specifically present to interact with the general public, with other Team Members, or both.

When referring to the Glasgow 2024 conventions, both in person and online, the Occasion runs from:

  • August 8 – August 12 for Attendees who are either logged into the online convention system, or who are physically present for the in-person convention.
  • August 5 – August 15 for Anyone who is actively working on pre- and post-convention activities, regardless of their location.

Everyone is responsible for abiding by this Code of Conduct

This CoC applies to all Participants in the Glasgow 2024 convention. This CoC also applies to Participants in Glasgow 2024 related Occasions at other Occasion Venues, including conventions. There are no exceptions for Anyone, including those who may have real or perceived importance, rank, reputation, or personage.

Everyone is protected by this Code of Conduct

In the context of the Glasgow 2024 CoC, “Everyone” and “Anyone” include Participants and Venue Staff for all Occasions, regardless of age; disability; faith or religious beliefs; fiction/fandom preferences; gender; gender identity or expression; nationality or cultural background; neurodiversity; physical ability, appearance or body size; race; religion or faith; sexual identity or orientation; and/or socioeconomic status.

Information About Violations

If you experience or witness a Code of Conduct violation

If you are bothered by Anyone, or witness Anyone being bothered by another, the first step is, when possible, to ask them to stop their behaviour. If this is not possible in your situation, you are not required to do so. Please do note that a few of the listed violations include conditions like “sustained” or “unwanted.” These can be difficult to act on if the person behaving badly is not told there is a problem.

Whether or not you do ask for them to stop, you absolutely may report the issue. Such a report is extremely useful for identifying patterns of misbehaviour.

What to do if you are asked to stop

If you are acting in a manner that is disrupting or bothering Anyone and they ask you to stop, you are required to stop the activity immediately. If you believe that you should be able to act in such a manner, you are still required to stop immediately, but we encourage you to reach out to the Listeners team who may be able to help explain it to you. We will listen to both sides and assist in making a determination, potentially before a formal complaint is made.

Examples of Code of Conduct violations

Behaviour, in person or online, that will be considered violations of this CoC includes, but is certainly not limited to the following:

General Occasion violations

The following are strictly forbidden and will be handled as swiftly as possible to mitigate their effects, both current and future. Any action(s) or behaviour(s) that:

  • are illegal;
  • cause significant interference with Occasion operations or with other attendees; adversely affects any Occasion’s relationship(s) with its guest(s), the Occasion Venue, or members of the general public;
  • anything apparently designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting any portion of the Occasion or making the environment hostile to Anyone;
  • attempt to weaponize the CoC; or
  • advocate for, or encourage, any behaviours covered elsewhere as violations.

Harassment violations, whether personally directed or not

Everyone has the right to be free of the following types of behaviour, regardless if they are an Attendee, a Team member, or part of the Venue Staff. Note that the following sub-headings are for ease of reading a long list and for general categorization; not as distinctions (e.g., deliberate intimidation is listed under Interpersonal but may also be Communications-based).

Sexual harassment

  • Subjecting Anyone to unwelcome or unwanted sexual attention.
  • Misgendering or deadnaming Anyone repeatedly.
  • Displaying sexual or otherwise inappropriate images in public spaces, even on a handheld personal device.
    • Language or Images that explicitly or sexually objectify are not appropriate for any Occasion Venue, including panels.

Interpersonal harassment

  • Violating personal space in any sustained manner.
    • Minimal amounts may be understood when not intentional and required by circumstance, such as a crowded elevator or queue.
  • Making unwelcome or unwanted physical contact.
  • Intimidating, stalking, or following Anyone.
  • Treating cosplay/costumes as consent for contact, interaction, or photography.
  • Taking unwanted photograph(s) or making unwanted recording(s) of Anyone without their consent.
    • Official Occasion photographers and/or videographers may operate within, but not beyond, their departmental guidelines without violating the CoC.
  • Wearing any item or combination of items, including but not limited to costumes, t-shirts, badges or other items, that:
    • are offensive based on the other conditions and/or examples in this CoC; or
    • the wearer has previously been asked to remove or cover by the Committee or their representative.

Communications-based harassment

The items listed below are harassment, regardless of communications medium or language.

  • Making comments that are intended to belittle, offend, or cause discomfort.
  • Making comments that are intended to reinforce social structures of domination.
  • Making comments that are intended to scorn or belittle personal choices around disease mitigation in favour of decisions which are either more or less cautious than Anyone else’s personal choices.
  • Shaming another’s body.
  • Disrupting (repeatedly or sustainedly) talks or other events.
  • Committing microaggressions.

Convention rules

  • Failing (repeatedly) to display your convention badge when requested.
  • Failing (repeatedly) to follow instructions from Team Members.
  • Jumping any queue without authorization.
    • There are specific rules governing staff and accessible Participants appearing to jump the queue.
  • Smoking or vaping outside of the designated areas.
    • The SEC is a completely smoke-free facility, excepting designated smoking shelters, located around the exterior of the SEC.

Conflicts that escalate

It is not a violation of this CoC to disagree with another’s views. It is a violation to escalate such a disagreement beyond civil discourse, including but not limited to:

  • Continuing an argument in such a way that it disturbs others who are not involved.
  • Escalating an argument beyond the verbal to any physical interaction.
  • Making threats of any kind, including threats of any actions similar to those defined elsewhere in this CoC, as well as threats of physical actions. Making these threats in seriousness, in the heat of the moment, or in jest are all precisely equivalent.
    • If the person receiving the threat(s) feels they might be credible threats, they will be treated as such under this CoC.
    • If a witness to the threat(s) feels they might be credible threats, they will be treated as such under this CoC.

The Code of Conduct team will generally not act on any complaints regarding:

  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “I want you to stop that”, “leave me alone”, “go away”, or “I’m not discussing this with you;”
  • Communicating in a ‘tone’ you don’t find congenial;
  • “Reverse discrimination”, such as reverse racism and cisphobia because challenging biases and privileges is not a form of discrimination;
  • Refusal to explain or debate social justice concepts;
  • Criticising oppressive behaviour or assumptions including, but not limited to racism, sexism, cissexism, or others.

In addition, Everyone is bound by the UK’s Equality Act 2010 [gov.uk link].

Compliance With the Indecent Display (Controls) Act 1981 (IDCA)

Everyone, including exhibitors, artists, and panellists, are legally required to comply with the Indecent Display (Controls) Act 1981 (IDCA) [gov.uk link]. The open display of sexualized images, activities, or other material is against the law, although this content may be kept out of sight and offered based on a customer’s inquiry, in keeping with the IDCA. In addition, Participants may not wear sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

This is not simply a convention rule, this is UK law.

IDCA prohibitions

Without a written exception, each of the following are prohibited at all Occasions:

  • conspicuous sexual activity
  • sexualization of any person(s)
  • pornography
  • discrimination
  • similar or related topics

IDCA exceptions

According to the IDCA none of the above are permitted in any Occasion Venue unless all of the following are true:

  1. The committee has specifically granted prior permission in writing.
  2. It is necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists.
  3. It is presented in a respectful manner, especially towards those directly or indirectly listed in Everyone is protected by this Code of Conduct.
  4. Participants are warned in advance in the programme and respectfully given ample warning and the opportunity to leave before the content is shown or discussed.

An exception granted as above specifically does not permit the use of gratuitous sexual images as attention-getting devices nor does it allow the use of unnecessary examples. No Exceptions will be considered unless they meet all the listed exception requirements, above.

Timeline to request an IDCA exception

Any and all Exception requests must be submitted no later than 36 hours in advance for at-convention Occasion(s). Exception requests should be submitted to the relevant team’s Division Head. In cases where the correct team is not clear, submit requests to info@glasgow2024.org.

Potential Actions Against Respondents

The Glasgow 2024 Team reserves the right to take any actions that are deemed appropriate to keep the Occasion welcoming to all. Respondents listed in a Listener Report will be contacted by one or more Teams, who may take one or more actions, based on the specific circumstances including, but not limited to:

  • warning the Respondent(s);
  • mediating solutions between parties;
  • implementing an approach designed to keep affected parties separated;
  • taking any other action the team considers necessary, up to and including ejection from all venues, both in person or online, without refund.

Actions may be taken in advance of any Occasion, when deemed appropriate by the Team.

We reserve the right to refuse admission and/or cancel Memberships, without refund, of anyone who is in violation of the Glasgow 2024 CoC.

While it is our sincere hope that no interaction needs to escalate beyond a single warning, the Listeners team remains committed to the ultimate goal of doing what it takes to provide a welcoming environment for Everyone.

Code of Conduct enforcement

Anyone who is asked to stop any behaviour(s) similar to the ones listed above is expected to comply immediately.

If a Participant engages in behaviour that violates the CoC, the Glasgow 2024 Team may also take actions to redress anything apparently designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting any portion of the Occasion or making the environment hostile to Anyone.

Why it is important to report violations

Harassment and other CoC violations have a negative impact on the experience of our Occasions for everyone. We sincerely want you to be happy at our Occasions because people like you make our Occasions better places to be. If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please submit an initial report as soon as possible; we are unable to resolve a problem we are unaware of.

By participating in and/or interacting with any/all Glasgow 2024 activities, regardless of Occasion Venue or format, you agree that you have carefully read and agreed to this Code of Conduct.

Addenda

The following are not part of the CoC, but are provided here as a convenient reference.

Additional CoC information and processes

While not a part of the Code of Conduct, these documents provide insight into how the processes around reporting will work at Glasgow 2024.

In addition, the Listeners Investigation Tracking & Reporting System (LITRS) can be used to submit a report to the Listeners team and can be submitted with attribution or anonymously; the choice is yours.

Additional Glasgow 2024 policies

This Code of Conduct is far from the only important policy for convention Participants to know. Please see the Policies page for more.

Additional resources

Our team will be happy to help you contact Occasion Venue security, local law enforcement, or local support services; provide escorts; or otherwise assist you to feel safe for the duration of the Occasion. Additionally, here are a few resources you can contact, as needed, on your own behalf.

Convention Support

SEC Main Number

Police Scotland & Scottish Ambulance Service

  • 999 for emergencies (all)
  • 111 for NHS 24 (medical advice)
  • 101 for police non-emergencies

Sexual Assault Resources

Credits

Credit where it’s due!

In both cases, you should check with the published laws if there is any question about language or interpretation.