Community Agreements

As current and future mental health professionals and advocates, we have a responsibility to always foster an inclusive and respectful environment, including during the Connecting Across Disciplines Conference. Listed below are our community agreements to facilitate this environment. We hope this non-exhaustive list will empower you to intervene effectively if you witness or overhear inappropriate behavior such as racial slurs, inappropriate sexual remarks, or demeaning comments. By taking action, you contribute to creating a safer and more welcoming space for all attendees.

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1. Recognizing Inappropriate Behavior: Inappropriate behavior refers to actions or expressions that violate social norms, cause discomfort, or harm others. Inappropriate behavior can take many forms, including verbal, nonverbal, and physical actions ranging from subtle to overt. Examples of inappropriate behaviors include but are not limited to:

   1. Verbal Harassment: Any speech that is offensive, derogatory, or threatening towards an individual or group based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other characteristics. 

      1. Example: Making derogatory jokes about someone's ethnicity.

   2. Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile or uncomfortable environment. 

      1. Example: Making lewd comments about a colleague’s appearance.

   3. Intimidation: Using threats, gestures, or other means to instill fear or manipulate others into compliance. 

      1. Example: Making aggressive gestures towards someone during a disagreement.

   4. Additionally, it is important to be mindful of power differentials, especially in professional settings. Instances where a senior colleague or authority figure engages in inappropriate behavior towards a junior colleague or subordinate, such as a senior colleague making inappropriate comments to a student, can be particularly damaging due to the power dynamic involved.

2. Taking Responsibility: Recognize that as a bystander, you have a responsibility to intervene or report when witnessing inappropriate behavior. Silence can perpetuate harm and contribute to a hostile environment.

3. Safety First: Prioritize your safety when deciding to intervene. If the situation poses a risk to your physical or emotional well-being, seek assistance from others or report the incident to the appropriate authorities. Our volunteers may assist with this process.

4. Direct vs. Indirect Intervention: Understand that there are various ways to intervene, including directly addressing the individual, diffusing the situation indirectly, seeking help from others, or reporting the incident to conference organizers or staff.

5. Effective Communication: Practice assertive communication techniques when intervening. Be clear, concise, and firm in expressing your concerns while remaining respectful and non-confrontational.

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Bystander Intervention Tips 

Sample Responses:

1. Direct Intervention: "Excuse me, I overheard your comment, and I find it offensive and inappropriate. I would appreciate it if you refrained from using language like that." 

2. Diffuse Indirectly: Redirect or interrupt the situation by asking a question or steering the conversation to another topic.

3. Offer Support: Check in with any individuals targeted to see how they’re doing and offer support.

4. Seeking Help: Approach a conference staff member or volunteer and inform them of the situation discreetly. Provide them with details so they can address the issue appropriately.

5. Reporting: Use the designated reporting channels provided by the conference organizers to report incidents of inappropriate behavior. See the Conference Question/Concern link to our email (here) at the bottom of this FAQ to submit information regarding a concern. Provide as much information as possible to assist in their understanding of what you observed.