Anti-Harassment Policy

Conquest Games Inc. is dedicated to providing a harassment-free convention experience for everyone at the Conquest Games Conventions. We do not tolerate harassment of convention participants in any form. This policy applies to ALL Convention Attendees (Players, Writers, Gamemasters, Traders, Visitors, Helpers and Convention Organisers).

Harassment includes (but is not limited to):

  • Offensive verbal comments (relating to protected attributes which include, but are not limited to, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, political affiliation, parental status or pregnancy)
  • Sexual images or discussion of explicit sexual activity
  • Intimidation, stalking or following
  • Unwanted photography or recording of video or audio
  • Sustained disruption of Convention Events
  • Inappropriate physical contact
  • Unwelcome sexual attention

Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.

If a participant engages in harassing behaviour, the Convention Organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the Convention (with no refund).

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a Convention Organiser immediately. Convention Organisers can be identified by their “organiser” badges and one will be staffing the registration desk at all times throughout the convention.

Convention Organisers will help participants contact law enforcement and otherwise help those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the Convention.

We expect ALL Convention Participants to adhere to this policy at the Convention and any social events or organisational meeting related to the Convention.

EVENTS

Events held at the Convention, especially roleplaying events, may depict harassment of characters or involve sexual images or discussion of sexual activity. This will not be considered harassment of the participants as long as all of the following conditions are met:

  • The content of the event is clearly indicated in the event’s blurb, through the Adult Content rating and any warnings that may be necessary
  • All participants are given the opportunity to halt or exit play without penalty if they become uncomfortable with the content
  • The harassing content is focussed on the experiences of the characters, not the participants
  • The event is held in a non-public space (i.e. a space allocated for that event)

ENFORCEMENT

Warnings

A Convention Organiser may issue a verbal warning to an Attendee whose behaviour, according to the judgment of the organiser, violates this anti-harassment policy. Warnings will be reported to the rest of the convention committee via the organisers’ mailing list as soon as practical following the issuance of the warning and recorded in the incident log at the registration desk. For reporting purposes, the organiser will collect the following information:

  • Identifying information of the Attendee
  • Time at which the warning was issued
  • The behaviour that was in violation
  • The time and place of the behaviour
  • Relevant circumstances surrounding the incident
  • Identifying information of other people involved in the incident, including the victim(s) of harassment and witnesses

Attendees who refuse to provide this information when receiving a warning will be expelled from the Convention.

Helpers, Writers and Gamemasters should report any harassment they observe to a Convention Organiser as soon as practical.Convention Organisers may issue warnings based on such reports.

Writers and Gamemasters are responsible for enforcement of convention rules and policies within the space allocated for their events, and may issue warnings under this policy that will later be reviewed by a Convention Organiser.

Expulsion

Any Convention Organiser may expel an Attendee from the Convention for:

  • Continuing to harass after being instructed to cease harassing a person
  • Engaging in a pattern of harassing behaviour
  • Engaging in a single serious offense

Convention Organisers will also refer behaviour that appears to be illegal to police for investigation.

Attendees who are expelled from the Convention may be barred from attending Conventions in future years.

Writers and Gamemasters may expel an Attendee from their event for:

  • Continuing to harass after being instructed to cease harassing a person
  • Engaging in a pattern of harassing behaviour
  • Engaging in a single serious offense

Writers and Gamemasters who expel an Attendee from their event under this policy must report the incident to the Convention Organisers. This report will be reviewed by the Convention Organisers and further action will be taken as appropriate.

Reporting Harassment

If an Attendee experiences harassment at the convention, he or she is encouraged to report any such incidents to a Convention Organiser. If the harassment takes place within the space allocated for an event, the Attendee may report the incident(s) to a Writer or Gamemaster, or may leave the event to seek out a Convention Organiser.

If you report an incident, the Convention Organiser taking the report will ask for details of the incident including:

  • Your name and Attendee type
  • Information that can be used to identify your harasser (name if possible, description if not)
  • The behaviour that you found harassing
  • The time and place of the incident
  • Information than can be used to identify other people involved in the incident, or witnesses to the incident (name(s) if possible, description(s) if not)

Incomplete information may limit the ability of the Convention Organiser to respond to the incident.

Sidebar:

There are a number of different reasons why people attend Conventions. For clarity, here are definitions of the terms we use to describe those people:

  • An Attendee is any person registered to be at the convention for any purpose, and encompasses all of the following categories:
    • A Convention Organiser is any member of the Conquest committee.
    • A Writer is any person running a Convention event.
    • A Gamemaster is any person running or assisting in the running of a session of a Convention event. Many Gamemasters are also Writers, but some Writers have Gamemasters to run sessions without participating in the organisation of the event as a whole.
    • A Player is any person playing in one or more events at the convention.
    • A Helper is any person who performs work for the convention at the direction of the Convention Organisers.
    • A Trader is a person who runs a retail stall at the Convention.
    • A Visitor is a person who is permitted to enter the public areas of the convention but who does not fall into any of the other categories of attendee.

Many convention attendees will fall into multiple categories at different times of the convention.