ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
The purpose of this policy is to reduce instances of harassment at Scapegoat and respond appropriately when they occur. Harassment includes offensive verbal or written comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, technology choices, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography, or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. (Thanks to Reverie Studios for letting us copy their definition of harassment).
The purpose of this policy is to provide a safe and welcoming environment for Scapegoat; specifically, it seeks to make the event more accessible to the LGBQTIA community, People of Color and other communities that have been traditionally under-repesented in larp. It does not protect hate speech, or the expression of sexist, racist, homophobic or transphobic opinions or other opinions that Sinking Ship Creations considers exclusionary. This policy applies to all interactions related to Scapegoat: before, during, and after the event. It applies both in-role and out-of-role; there is no valid in-role reason to violate this policy.
A note on microaggressions: misgendering (or improper response to correction), use of racially coded language, and similar instances of difficult to define behavior will be considered harassment. If a participant is informed they committed a microaggression, they will likely (but without guarantee) be allowed to continue with the event if they correct their behavior and make, in the staff’s opinion, a good faith effort to move forward. Failure to do so may jeopardize an individual’s ability to continue with the event.
If you are comfortable, please bring all instances of harassment to the attention of the staff. We will respond to the person committing harassment as if they have committed a Code of Conduct violation, and apply appropriate consequences. Anyone can report harassment, including bystanders as well as the people being harassed.
Sometimes, a participant is uncomfortable calling another individual’s behavior “harassment.” Likewise, a participant might have personal discomfort around another individual not associated with any actual behavior. The sidebar “A Culture of Protection” under the Accessibility section of the Scapegoat Participant’s Guide describes options for providing for that participant’s comfort outside of this policy. Note that use of these options does not mean that harassment has not occurred, or that the staff cannot take action at a later time.
Regarding sexual assault: understand that if Sinking Ship Creations is informed of any form of sexual assault, our default assumption is that the accuser is speaking the truth.
Finally, this policy set of rules created to promote a safer larp environment and respect the humanity of all our participants. If a specific situation occurs where these rules would not serve these purposes of safety and respect, Sinking Ship Creations will deviate from them in accordance with the best judgement of the producers.