The Lead Advocate Checklist is here.
Role of the ToC Advocate for Virtual Conferences:
- Help the PC Chair confirm author-declared CoIs as needed.
- Introduce themselves or be introduced at the first synchronous event of the conference and provide contact information.
- Give a brief presentation at the business meeting about the code of conduct and the role of the ToC Advocates. Here are some sample slides. And here is another set of sample slides.
- Generally be around and available to help if contacted.
- Any of the items described below for in-person meetings that make sense for virtual conferences.
The role of the ToC Advocates includes:
- providing measures to ensure safety if an individual feels unsafe. This might include walking the person back to their hotel room or helping the person switch rooms or hotels.
- providing contact information for hotel security or local police.
- providing information about available resources, such as counseling.
- helping the person figure out how to navigate professionally tricky situations, such as how to decline an unwanted invitation.
- informing the person about available means of filing an official complaint if they decide to do so.
Each participating conference should plan to have at least one ToC Advocate in attendance for the duration of the conference, although two is preferable. In the event of a serious conflict, a conference organizer or member of the steering committee can be asked to fill in for a short period.
The ToC Advocates should keep discussions confidential if requested. However, an individual approaching a ToC Advocate should be informed that there are certain situations which require mandatory reporting. For example, some institutions such as the University of California, require that if a a faculty member learns about an allegation of harassment against another UC employee, the person hearing the complaint is obligated to report the incident to the university.
Currently, the recommended training for ToC Advocates is to watch a pre-recorded webinar on sexual harassment at scientific conferences. Since the webinar was sponsored by the ACM, some of the information is specific to conferences affiliated with the ACM. You should make sure to be familiar with the policies and code of conduct for the conference where you are serving as an advocate. A link to the code of conduct for each participating conference can be found here:
The ACM training webinar can be found by clicking the link below:
Addressing Harassment at ACM Events: Volunteer Training
The registration page asks for your position and you can just put “ACM volunteer”.
ToC Advocates should be able to provide information about where to file a complaint of harassment if a person wishes to do so. Conferences sponsored by the IEEE or the ACM are governed by the policies of those organizations. The codes of conduct for ACM and IEEE conferences indicate how and where to file a formal complaint. If an incident occurs at a conference that is not sponsored by the ACM or IEEE, then complaints can be filed with the accused harasser’s employer.