The safeISBA Task Team had its second meeting on 16/01/18. A summary of the topics discussed and the more relevant updates can be found below.
- A drafted code of behavior inspired by those available from other societies has been produced and discussed by the team members. Such code of behavior is expected to address misconduct for ISBA as a Society, with a particular focus on its conferences and sponsored events. A summary of such code of behavior will be also produced. Although the code will mainly focus on preventing harassment, the safeISBA Task Team discussed also the possibility of integrating the code with additional guidelines for good conduct as ISBA members, beyond the harassment issue.
- Also drafted protocols to report and handle instances of harassment have been produced and discussed among the team members. Such protocols will mainly address harassment at ISBA sponsored events, with the possibility of both immediate or more long-term actions. Although ISBA conferences and sponsored events are a priority for the current safeISBA Task Team, there was also a discussion on how to possibly address severe cases of misconduct of ISBA members beyond conferences and sponsored events.
- A set of simple guidelines to help the organizers of ISBA events in guaranteeing safe environments, coherent with the code of behavior, will be also produced. Additionally, updates of the ISBA by-laws in the light of the recent events, and coherent with the materials developed, have been proposed and discussed.
- The task team also discussed about the utility of a FAQ highlighting the most important aspects of the code of behavior, the protocols and the guidelines for safe ISBA events, once such documents will be finalized.
The safeISBA Task Team will meet in about two weeks with the goal of finalizing the above materials, and submitting them to legal advice. Additional attention will be also paid to the evaluation of the different documents by ISBA members. We want a safe and inclusive Society, and we will do our best to make sure that our work meets the expectations of our diverse members.
We invite all the ISBA members who have additional suggestions, concerns or comments about this and related issues to contact the Task Team (safeisba@bayesian.org) or one of its members listed at https://bayesian.org/safe-isba-task-team-members-appointed/. Updates will be timely posted at https://bayesian.org/membership/safe-isba/.