While this letter was being passed around the internet this week, some of the brains at Girl-wonder.org got together and said “How can we solve this problem and help others solve this problem?” In less than 2 days, they’ve created the Con Anti-Harassment Project:
The Con Anti-Harassment Project is a grass-roots campaign designed to help make conventions safer for everyone. Our aims are to encourage fandom, geek community and other non-business conventions to establish, articulate and act upon anti-harassment policies, especially sexual harassment policies, and to encourage mutual respect among con-goers, guests and staff.
The convention experience is often a fun and rewarding one; we want to do our part to make it fun, rewarding and safe for everyone involved. Conventions can’t eliminate harassment, but they can reduce it, have ways to deal with it when it happens, and make it clear that it’s unacceptable in our fun con environments. Our campaign is based upon a three-part action plan we encourage con committees to adopt and adapt for their own con atmosphere and environment.
The site includes tips for letter campaigns, a FAQ, and a list of genre conventions with contact information and their policies on harassment.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
I think Colleen Doran is having an unsafe, unhappy con experience right now:
http://adistantsoil.com/blog/?p=3544
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Wow… What Colleen’s had to put up with is so NOT cool. I hope she’s finally getting some peace of mind.
I’ve never actually been to a con (well, I’ve been to a few Star Trek cons way back when but I’ve never seen anything like this rotten stuff I’ve been reading about) so I didn’t realize that these kinds of things went on. Or that an event SDCC didn’t have any anti-harassment rules in place. The ‘Project’ is a great idea!
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 am
Comic convention problems require comic book style justice. Punisher: War Journal, for example…
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
So I read colleen’s story. And that stinks it really does. She handled herself WONDERFULLY though, I think.
But the average person follows rules like ‘don’t stalk that person’ without being told. A rule to tell weird stalkers to stop isn’t going to suddenly convince them.
All you’ve succeeded in doing is spelling out the slap on the wrist punishment they’ll get (might even encourage them if they see the weak response spelled out) and they’ll learn how they’re being identified and change the way they operate.
No rule will save everyone. Most don’t help anyone.
I think all this talk is great though… I think the best way to change things up is an open discussion about what appropriate and what’s not. Then there’s social pressure for creeps to conform. I’m pretty sure that’s how Superman ended the Klu Klux Klan in real life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Superman#Superman.27s_Finest_Hour
January 24th, 2011 at 4:37 am
I am glad you’ve said it!