Family Care Support & Our Commitment to Safety and Offering a Respectful Environment

Safety Plan

Our Commitment to Safety and Offering a Respectful Environment
We will ensure safety and harmony by promoting a culture of mutual respect, understanding, and support among participants in all communications, starting before and throughout the symposium. We will establish a conference code of conduct and reporting mechanisms, which will be clear and accessible to all online and offline meeting attendees. Local resources are available to support individuals who report incidents of harassment, including personnel trained in advocacy and counseling and referrals to local legal or health care resources. A security force will be available on-site to ensure the safety of all conference attendees and, if necessary, remove a perpetrator from the conference. The post-symposium survey will cover questions related to sexual harassment and professional misconduct in the event.

Conference Code of Conduct
To ensure that everyone feels safe and comfortable, we ask all attendees, speakers, sponsors, and organizing staff to adhere to the following code of conduct:

  1. Respect and Inclusivity: Treat all participants with kindness, respect, and consideration, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or other factors. Discrimination or harassment of any form will not be tolerated.
  2. Harassment-Free Environment: Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, sustained disruption of talks, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
  3. Professional Conduct: Always conduct yourself professionally. Be mindful of your language and actions, and avoid any behavior that could be construed as disruptive or disrespectful.
  4. Reporting Incidents: If you witness or experience harassment or any other violation of this code of conduct, please report it immediately to the Britton Chance Symposium Coordinating Staff. We take all reports seriously and will take appropriate action to address the situation, including but not limited to warnings, expulsion from the conference without a refund (if applicable), and reporting to proper authorities if necessary.
  5. Consequences: Attendees who violate this code of conduct may be subject to removal from the conference, and future attendance may be prohibited.
  6. Community Responsibility: We all share responsibility for creating a positive and inclusive environment. If you see someone who looks uncomfortable or needs assistance, please offer your support or alert conference staff.

Reporting Incidents: If you witness or experience harassment or any other violation of our code of conduct, we encourage you to report it immediately to either Conference Organizers or file a complaint with HHS OCR. Filing a complaint with Conference Organizers is not required before filing a complaint with HHS OCR. You may also notify NIH of any concerns about violating the conference code of conduct. Concerns about harassment, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and other inappropriate conduct at NIH-supported conferences, should go to NIH’s Find Help webpage.

Communicating the Conference Code of Conduct to all Participants, including all speakers, sponsors, and attendees:

Once the NIH approves our plan, the Code of Conduct will be added to the symposium website. It will also be emailed to all registered participants and added to the Terms & Conditions portion of the registration form so that all future registrants can accept it before completing their registration. (By registering and participating in the 3rd Britton Chance Symposium on Metabolic Imaging and Spectroscopy, you agree to abide by this code of conduct.)