ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes is committed to providing a safe environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Harassment or unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, visual, or in any other form, is strictly prohibited. Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes anti-harassment policy applies to all persons involved in the operation or attendance of the event. Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes will not tolerate harassment of anyone by anyone, including participants, vendors, hosts, or staff.
Harassment at Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes does not include respectful disagreement or critique offered in good faith.

Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes defines harassment as any behavior that threatens a person or group or produces an unsafe and non-inclusive environment. Harassment includes, but is not limited to offensive verbal comments or non-verbal expressions related to:

• gender

• gender identity

• gender expression

• sexual orientation

• disability

• physical appearance

• body size

• ethnicity

• age

• or religious beliefs.

Furthermore, harassment includes, but is not limited to, sexual or discriminatory images in public and quasi-public spaces (online and offline), intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Harassment may take the form of comments, epithets, slurs, discriminatory or insensitive jokes, teasing, display or discussion of written or graphic material, repeatedly standing too close to or brushing up against a person, or giving gifts of an unwanted or sexual nature. Advocating or encouraging any of the above is also considered harassment.
No one should tolerate any conduct of this type. Should you experience or witness harassment, you may choose to take any of the following actions:

• If you feel safe and comfortable doing so, ask the offender to stop. Whether the offending behavior is intentional or unintentional, expressing your discomfort to the offender directly may put a stop to that conduct.

• Leave the area. While this may seem unfair, it is sometimes best for your safety and well-being if you leave the area, especially if you feel uncomfortable around the offender or their conduct. After separating yourself from the conduct, you may wish to take additional actions.

• If you are comfortable doing so, ask a TO/EO/Judge for help.

• Report the incident formally to the TO/EO/Judge, on-site or online, by sending a message to marvelcrisisprotocolvictoria@gmail.com.

• Contact the police or other appropriate authorities. Your health and safety are our most important concern. If you require immediate assistance from law enforcement, medical services, or other governmental entities, please do not hesitate to contact such services directly.

Based on any informal or formal complaint or report of harassment,  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes may take the following steps. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and other appropriate action may be taken as necessary.

Read and investigate all reports. Reporting parties may be contacted by  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes for further clarifying information, unless they have submitted a report anonymously or asked to not be contacted further. Note that  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes will not share the results of these reports with anyone, including the person who filed the report, unless required by law.

Intercede if and when appropriate. Staff may take immediate action to address harassment concerns, including but not limited to, escorting participants to a location in which they feel safe, removing offenders from the event, or banning offenders from the event. Bans and removals may be on a temporary basis, for the duration of the show, or permanent.

Contact police and medical authorities when appropriate. If, upon review,  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes finds that relevant local government officials should be notified, staff may contact such entities and/or share confidential information as required by law.

Sanction participants based on our investigations.  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes participants found to have violated the policies in this page may be subject to sanctions, including but not limited to:

• Verbal or written warning

• Requiring the participant to avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to the party or parties involved

• Temporary suspension from any events

• Permanent ban from any events

• Immediate expulsion from the event without refund

• Reporting of the incident to the appropriate authorities

This policy applies in all physical and online spaces within Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes control. This includes, but is not limited to, event venues,  Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes social media pages and groups.

We understand that, at times, participants will have disagreements or interpersonal conflicts that do not necessarily escalate to the point of harassment or abuse. Victoria’s Mightiest Heroes will not arbitrate such disagreements—we ask that you please leave these conflicts at home.

If you have a question about a certain policy or guideline, be sure to read through all of our policies. If that still doesn’t answer your question, email marvelcrisisprotocolvictoria@gmail.com