The Bay Area Humanists is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion. We believe that our community thrives on such diversity and that creating a safe space is an essential part of humanism. We do not tolerate harassment of participants at our events in any form. BAH organizers, volunteers, speakers, and attendees are expected to comply with the following Code of Conduct at all BAH events. This Code of Conduct also applies at informal gatherings of our community, such as dinners after our events and online communications platforms associated with our group. Participants violating these rules may be restricted in their activities or expelled from an event without a refund of any donations or other payments at the discretion of the organizers.
Misconduct
We define misconduct as deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, disruptive arguments anywhere at our events, personal verbal attacks, offensive verbal comments (related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religious identity (clarification) , etc.), fights, physical assault, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, and any other act that may cause harm to oneself or others.
“Yes” means yes; “No” means no; and “Maybe” means no. Please accept no for an answer for any request or activity. You are encouraged to ask for unequivocal consent for all activities involving another person. No touching other people without asking. This includes hands on knees, backs, shoulders—and hugs. Ask first! There are people who do not like to be touched and will respect and like you more if you respect their personal space.
While we encourage an environment of sex positivity where sex and sexuality are discussed, we will make every effort to make our community members as comfortable as possible. Presenters should not use sexualized humor in presentations or discuss sex unless it is directly relevant to the topic of the presentation.
Clarification: Assuming the absence of problematic behavior, as defined above, criticism or disagreement regarding an attendee’s belief structure will not be construed as misconduct. A person’s right to publicly exist as a member of one of these minority groups is not, however, up for debate.
Participants asked to stop any form of misconduct are expected to comply immediately. Patterns of inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated regardless of whether each specific incident on its own meets the threshold for expulsion.
Reporting a Problem with Conduct
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, witness blatant instances of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or other stereotyping and harmful behaviors, or have any other concerns, please contact a BAH organizer immediately. BAH organizers will be wearing lanyard name tags for easy identification.
We will be happy to help those experiencing misconduct to feel safe for the duration of the event and at any future events. We value your attendance and your membership in our community.
If a participant engages in misconduct, the organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event with no refund of any donations. All reported misconduct, regardless of severity, will be noted in a format available to members of the board.
Sales and Commerce Policy
Our events are not commercial spaces and in general are not the right place to sell your product or service. In many cases, this is prohibited entirely by the venues we use. Attendees may not sell anything at our events without permission from the board, which will be granted only in limited circumstances. Aggressive marketing that makes members uncomfortable will be considered misconduct. If you have a question about whether something violates this policy, please ask a member of the board.