Denver Suspension Collective Code of Conduct.
Denver Suspension Collective (DSC) is committed to preventing violence and making our events a safe and inclusive place to volunteer, learn, and network. We do not tolerate behavior that is violent, threatening, intimidating, harassing, bullying, or coercive towards anyone.
For the purposes of this Code of Conduct (COC), “attendees” includes practitioners, suspendees, volunteers, staff, and anyone present at DSC events (including spectators, vendors, and guests). Unless otherwise specified, references to “attendees” in this document are meant to include all of these groups.
Bullying, harassment, or discrimination at DSC events or within our community is unacceptable and may also violate applicable laws and regulations.
With this COC, we are encouraging everyone to behave responsibly and to be a credit to our community. This entails acting in good faith and showing respect for every person they interact with at DSC events.
Everyone involved in DSC events is responsible for helping ensure that event spaces remain free from sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, or other forms of harm.
We do not permit any act of harassment, including harassment or discrimination that is based, in fact or perception, on an individual’s sex, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity, as well as any other legally protected characteristics.
This COC is a living document and, as such, is subject to ongoing review. DSC welcomes suggestions for amendments - and acknowledges the need for continual examination of our community’s practices and standards.
We believe that this COC is an opportunity for everyone to work towards a more collaborative, communicative, and empowering space. This means that everyone feels confident that they will not be exposed to emotional, cultural, or physical harm. Because the ways in which we come together as a community are broad, we must be extra vigilant about ensuring there is no space for problematic behavior to exist.
This COC is intended to create and maintain a safe environment for everyone, and to encourage and enable anyone to raise legitimate concerns within the group prior to seeking resolution outside the organization. Consent is everything - we have a zero-tolerance policy for any breaches of consent.
This COC applies to all DSC events and activities, and to all attendees as defined above. Any violation of this policy could result in community consequences, including expulsion from current events, suspension from future events, and/or removal from any volunteer role. Some forms of discrimination or harassment may also violate applicable laws, which individuals are responsible for understanding and following.
Unless otherwise stated in a specific section, this COC applies to all attendees and it applies in all aspects of DSC events, wherever they may take place.
All those involved have a responsibility for ensuring they treat their fellow attendees in an event space with dignity and respect, and to be aware of the potential impact their behavior has on others. With this COC, DSC encourages attendees to call out inappropriate behavior as soon as it arises. (See the “Making a Complaint of Harassment” section below.)
The nature of suspension involves an intense interaction with many individuals. This process can expose attendees to vulnerable situations.
Harassment of any kind is about the abuse of power. DSC encourages practitioners and other attendees to take responsibility for the power they have within DSC events and our community, and not use it abusively over others who may be more vulnerable than themselves.
Some general guidelines are:
Attendees should not be subject to negative commentary and/or stereotypes on: sexuality, gender identity, age, physical attributes or abilities, race, ethnicity, class, size, attractiveness, personality characteristics, or clothing.
Avoid being dismissive and rude.
Making assumptions about gender, sexuality, race, class, or religion of attendees is disrespectful.
Strive to use people’s proper names, pronunciation, and pronouns.
Shaming or public outbursts are threatening and have absolutely no place at our events or within our community.
We are literally getting under your skin; this intimacy is a lot more comfortable for both parties if personal hygiene is looked after.
Be polite to your fellow attendees.
Photographs are to only be taken with the prior consent of the person being photographed. Please notify volunteers if you do not wish your photo to be taken.
At events, pay attention to your surroundings and what is going on around you.
Help us to maintain a tidy and clean venue.
Do not hesitate to inform volunteers or DSC organizers if you have suggestions or notice any violations of these rules.
There are sharp objects and potentially contaminated equipment around. Pay attention to what might be near you. If you are not a volunteer, or you are a volunteer but do not have a specific role, do not touch anything unless you are directed to do so. If in doubt, ask someone. Don’t touch anything with blood on it, not even your own blood.
Suspension can be an intense, vulnerable, and sometimes mind-altering experience. Practitioners and volunteers involved in a suspension hold significant power and responsibility during and after that experience. This power dynamic can affect a suspendee’s ability to freely consent to new romantic or sexual relationships in the same way they might outside of this context.
Unless otherwise stated below, this section applies specifically to practitioners and volunteers in their interactions with suspendees. The rest of this COC continues to apply to all attendees.
DSC strongly discourages practitioners and volunteers from starting romantic or sexual relationships with suspendees during or soon after a suspension. While we recognize that we are a community and that relationships will naturally form within it, practitioners and volunteers are held to a higher standard of conduct and care.
Expectations for practitioners and volunteers involved in a suspension include:
Practitioners and volunteers directly involved in a person’s suspension (including rigging, piercing, and aftercare) must not initiate or accept romantic or sexual advances from that suspendee during the suspension, during aftercare, or for at least three days after the suspension ends. This three-day period is an absolute minimum standard that DSC is willing to codify in this COC, recognizing that relationships and power dynamics are complex and that there will always be edge cases and exceptions.
In practice, we strongly encourage practitioners and volunteers to wait at least three months before pursuing any romantic or sexual relationship with a suspendee.
If a suspendee expresses romantic or sexual interest during this period, practitioners and volunteers are expected to deflect and delay, rather than engage. For example, you might say: “I can’t engage with that right now. You’ve just gone through an intense experience, and my role is to support your safety and well-being. If you still feel this way after you’ve had some time and space to process, we can revisit the conversation then.”
After this three-day period, any potential romantic or sexual relationship should still be approached with care. Practitioners and volunteers should continue to examine the power dynamic, consider how comfortable the suspendee is with saying no, and think about whether the relationship is genuinely informed and freely chosen. If at any point you are unsure whether you are engaging in a relationship ethically or in a way that is consistent with this COC, you are expected to talk to a member of the Incident Resolution Team (IRT) or a senior community member before moving forward.
Existing romantic or sexual relationships between practitioners/volunteers and suspendees are generally exempt from the three-day prohibition on initiating or accepting a relationship. However, the same power-dynamic concerns still apply. Practitioners in existing relationships are encouraged to check in with their partners, to give them space to process intense suspensions, and to recognize that sometimes it may be more supportive for another practitioner to lead or assist with a suspension.
Where a romantic or sexual relationship between a practitioner or volunteer and a suspendee later ends under normal circumstances and without any misconduct or breach of this COC, DSC expects practitioners and volunteers to remain professional, respectful, and non-retaliatory toward their former partners in all DSC spaces and communications. Suspendees whose relationships have ended are encouraged to continue attending DSC events and should feel welcome and supported in doing so. Where appropriate, DSC may work with those involved (for example, by assigning a different practitioner for future suspensions) to help maintain safety, comfort, and community for everyone.
Harassment on the grounds of gender identity, marital status, family status, race, age, religion, size, sexual orientation, or disability is defined as any unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for the person.
Unwanted conduct may consist of acts, requests, spoken words, gestures, or the production, display, or circulation of written words, pictures, or other material.
Examples of harassment might include:
Verbal harassment – jokes, comments, ridicule or songs
Written harassment – texts, messages, social media posts, emails, letters and notices
Physical harassment – unnecessary touching, non-consensual touching or any form of assault
Sexual harassment is any form of non-consensual verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person.
This conduct is not limited by the gender(s) of the complainant and the alleged perpetrator(s). The non-consensual conduct may consist of acts, requests, spoken words, gestures, physical contact or the production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other material.
Examples of sexual harassment include:
Unwelcome sexual gestures
Unwanted displays of sexually suggestive objects including images, text messages or emails
Unwelcome sexual comments and jokes
Unwelcome physical contact such as pinching and groping. Or more benign touching that is unnecessary or it has been communicated is unwanted.
Physical force, or threat of force, for sexual objective
Threat of disadvantage for rejection of advances
Promise of advantage for sexual concessions
Bullying is repeated inappropriate behavior, direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical, online or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another, or others, at events and/or in the course of volunteering which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual’s right to dignity at events.
Bullying is deliberate and intentional. It is usually not a one-off incident, but is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated over time. Many types of conduct and actions can constitute bullying with some being less obvious than others. Bullying can consist of persistent offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behavior carried out by any individual or group against another person, either directly or indirectly, which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable.
By way of example only, a pattern of any of the following (non-exhaustive) types of conduct amount to bullying:
Sharing content about other attendees or community members online that is derogatory and/or shaming
Personal insults and name calling
Persistent unjustified criticism and/or sarcasm
Public or private humiliation
Shouting at other attendees or community members in public and/or private
Instantaneous rage, often over trivial issues or genuine mistakes
Unfair or unrealistic delegation of duties and responsibilities
Aggression
Making offensive comments about other volunteers
Not giving credit for contributions and ideas
Intimidation and threats in general
Physical & emotional abuse
Spying or stalking
Pressuring someone to drop a complaint
Bullying can have a physiological, psychological and behavioral impact on an individual. Victims can lose their self-esteem and self-confidence and are at increased risk of suffering stress-related conditions that can trigger further trauma.
Apart from the direct impact on a victim’s health, long-term exposure to bullying may also have consequences for the victim’s opportunities, through absenteeism from events in order to avoid contact with the bully.
Anyone who is asked to stop any harassing behavior should comply immediately. If you are being harassed, or witness inappropriate behavior, speak out about it. Seek support for yourself or offer support to the person harmed. If you feel comfortable to do so, call out the inappropriate behavior immediately. You might find it helpful to use this type of language: “That is not appropriate – it makes me feel uncomfortable”. Or you can raise it at a later time.
The “bystander effect” is all too common - a culture of silence perpetuates harm. If the behavior is not rectified immediately, or if you do not feel comfortable addressing the perpetrator directly, feel free to fill in an incident report form, which can be obtained from event coordinators or completed online using our Code of Conduct incident report form.
DSC maintains policies to deal with harassment (including sexual harassment), discrimination, bullying, and other misconduct at our events. If you experience or witness harassment, discrimination, bullying, or other misconduct in any event setting you have a right to speak up and, if appropriate, to make a formal complaint.
If you decide to make a complaint then you can expect the following to happen:
The complaint should be taken seriously by the Incident Resolution Team (IRT)
Your complaint should be documented regardless of whether or not a formal investigation is conducted.
There is an obligation on the IRT to discuss with you the steps to be taken to ensure your safety.
Your complaint should be addressed in a fair, timely, and confidential manner.
You should be given information by the IRT about what complaint procedures are available to you. These may be formal or informal processes.
The IRT should follow the complaints procedure you elect, and you should be allowed to have a support person with you throughout the process.
Only you, and those people who need to know in order for the complaint to be properly and fairly investigated, should be provided information about your complaint.
In the case of a formal complaint, our preference is that the person you have made the complaint against should be notified and given an opportunity to respond.
If a person is found to have harassed you, discriminated against you, bullied you, or otherwise violated this COC there should be clear consequences for their actions.
DSC will not tolerate retaliation against anyone for making a good-faith complaint of harassment, discrimination, bullying, or other misconduct, or for supporting someone else’s complaint. Some forms of retaliation may also be unlawful.