[AusNOG] Sexual Harassment at AUSNOG Industry Events

[Tim Raphael]

> On 2 Oct 2018, at 12:32 pm, Chris Ford <chris.ford at inaboxgroup.com.au> wrote:
> 
> Noel,
> 
> Aside from one person (inappropriately) pushing Bevan for details, no has been talking about the details of any specific incident. Yes, any specific incident should be handled in accordance with the wishes of the victim and not aired here publicly. That's not what's happening here. This is the start of a conversation about what behaviour we as a community are willing to accept or not accept.
> 
> If we as a community cannot have this conversation here, then where can we have it? As others have said, avoiding this conversation and sweeping it under the carpet is not the answer. That simply perpetuates the issue.
> 
> This is not about a lack of respect for the board. This is about members of AusNOG not being willing to step past what has been an on-going cultural issue across the technology industry. We are putting our hands up to say it's not ok, and to ensure that our colleagues who have been, or may in the future be victims of unacceptable behaviour, that there are those of us who will believe them and be there to support them.
> 
> --
> Chris Ford | CTO
> Inabox / Telcoinabox


This is the thing though, AusNOG has no members and thus no industry representation, only un-gated users - this is part of the issue being discussed here.

The questions that need to be asked are:

Is it the role of AusNOG Pty Ltd to represent those that are part of the mailing list and/or attend the conference as well as the wider industry?
Is AusNOG Pty Ltd equipped to represent, gate and handle the issues that arise from representing a group of industry professionals?
Once chosen governance (e.g. CoC) processes have been put in place, what will be done when breaches are reported if there is no representation of members? 

The reason sexual assault is under-reported in Australia/the workplace is due to perceived judgement from colleagues and the wider community. We’re a heavily male-dominated sector which means it’s incredibly hard for women to speak up and this should not be the case. To those saying “take it to the police” - this is a wider social issue and not something the police can tackle on a per-incident basis. The community as a whole should be aware that inappropriate behaviour is never acceptable by default, not something someone should require the reading of a CoC to understand.

There is a reason this is still an issue across society and I believe that by tackling this as an industry is a good start. Those that feel this is acceptable behaviour at any time should not be welcome within the community. I’d like to applaud Bevan for calling this out and sparking this discussion and I’d like to encourage other readers to approach their industry bodies to ensure something is done - be it IAA, ACS or EA. These bodies represent members of our industry and have the power to ensure minority members are treated equally and everyone else understands that anything other than respectful behaviour is not acceptable under any circumstances.

As a disclaimer: Yes, I work for IAA but this response does not represent the view of IAA. 

However, as an IAA and EA member, I’d encourage people to approach their industry bodies if they wish events such as AusNOG to continue and become safe places for minority members of our Internet community.

- Tim 




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