IAGS is an organisation made strong by its members. As such, we expect all members, regardless of position and location, to work together to foster an open and safe community.

This Code of Practice outlines expected standards of behaviour by all members of IAGS. A breach of this Code of Practice may lead to disciplinary action (see ‘Disciplinary Actions’).

Members have a right to:

• Be treated fairly, equally and with respect by the Association, its Boards, and all other members.
• Socialise and communicate in an environment free from all forms of harassment and discrimination.
• Privacy and confidentiality concerning records, documentation and any other communication containing a member’s personal information, unless consent is otherwise provided.
• Be informed and actively involved in all Association events and offerings.
• Voice their opinions, requirements and suggestions to the Boards.

This Code has the following objectives:

• Creating an organisational environment free from bullying and sexual harassment;
• Encouraging an environment throughout IAGS where individuals are treated with courtesy, respect and dignity;
• Treating complaints made in good faith about discriminatory behaviour, harassment, abuse or bullying in a manner that is confidential, timely, fair and with protection from reprisal;
• Promoting appropriate standards of conduct at all times.

Members Obligations

• All members should treat each other fairly, equally and with respect and courtesy. Any kind of discriminatory behaviour (including identity-based discrimination), harassment, abuse or bullying, including physical, written or verbal harassment and abuse, is prohibited.
• Members must behave responsibly and ensure they conduct themselves in a manner which will not injure the reputation of the Association, its events, organisers, participants, or sponsors.
• All members must show integrity and professionalism in their conduct with IAGS and all other IAGS members.
• Members must report any inappropriate behaviour of a member to the Executive Board of the Association for action and follow up.
• Members must abide by this IAGS Code of Practice.

List-Serv Obligations

The list-serv is a place where scholars can share resources with their peers and colleagues. Please note the following:

1. You must be a current member of IAGS

To post or to receive messages you must be a current, paid-up member of the IAGS in good standing. If you are not sure of the status of your membership, you can log in online to check this, or email the Second Vice-President, who can check for you.

2. No personal insults, libel, or inflammatory statements

While forceful opinions are fine, messages cannot include personal attacks, insults, or libelous statements. The moderator retains the right to remove insults, attacks, or instances of libel prior to approving the post. In instances where the problematic statement is the only statement of substance in the post, the moderator has the right to request a revision of the post or reject the post. In all cases, the moderator’s decisions will be final, with the exception of Rule 6 below.

3. Private conversations

Please consider whether your response is for the whole membership, or one-on-one to another writer. If the latter, just send them an email. Do not ‘reply all’ if this is not necessary. The moderator may reject a post that appears particularly private.

4. Subject lines

Messages will not be posted when the subject line doesn’t match the content. Members are busy and receive a lot of mail, so they have the right to know what your message is about before opening. Additionally, consider new subjects if your post extends a prior post. If the chat has focused on Mao’s Famine and you want to extend it to the current food crisis in Somalia, please add a fresh topic line. This encourages others to start a new thread based on your story.

5. Tails

Trim past posts leaving one or two if you need context.

6. Appeals

The moderator will always inform an individual why a post has been rejected. If appropriate, the moderator may offer suggestions to an author whose post has been rejected based on one or more of the above rule violations. The author is expected to make a good faith effort to revise the post. If the author still feels that his or her message should be posted, he or she may appeal to the IAGS Advisory Board, which will be headed by a Chair and will vote to uphold or overturn the moderator’s decision about the post in question.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment of and by an IAGS member is prohibited.

Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual conduct which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated where that reaction is reasonable in the circumstances. Sexual harassment in employment is unlawful under many national laws.

Whether the behaviour is unwelcome is a subjective test: how the conduct in question was perceived and experienced by the recipient rather than the intention behind it.

Whether the behaviour was offensive, humiliating or intimidating is an objective test: whether a reasonable person would have anticipated that the behaviour would have this effect.

Sexual harassment can take various forms. It can involve (but is not limited to) unwelcome touching, hugging or kissing; suggestive comments or jokes; sexual advances, such as unwanted invitations to go out on dates or requests for sex; invasive questioning about personal life or body; insults based on your sex or gender; or distribution of sexually explicit emails or other electronic material.

Reporting process

Complaints about discriminatory behaviour, harassment, abuse or bullying of any form can be made to any member of the Executive or Advisory Boards, via any means of communication, including oral, email, post, or any form of electronic messaging. Complaints will be considered confidential, and will be passed to the Executive Board. Complaints may be brought up to 10 years after the event.

Disciplinary Actions

IAGS may take disciplinary action against members who repeatedly or intentionally fail to follow the IAGS Code of Practice. Disciplinary actions will vary depending on the violations. Possible consequences include one or more of the following:

• Suspension from the list-serv.
• Removal from the list-serv.
• Written warning.
• Barring from attending the IAGS conference(s).
• Removal from IAGS membership.

Decisions on disciplinary action will be taken by the Executive Board. Those subject to disciplinary action decisions can appeal to the Advisory Board. The Appeals procedure, and point of contact, will be detailed in any correspondence sent regarding the action(s) taken.