American Aging Association policy on harassment and discrimination
The American Aging Association (AGE) meetings are intended to foster the exchange of scientific ideas, providing participants with an opportunity to present research findings, establish/renew collaborations, recruit people to their laboratories, and learn, teach, and network with an international community. The American Aging Association is committed to creating an environment where everyone can participate without harassment, discrimination, or violence of any kind. All meeting participants must be treated with respect and consideration. Registration for the meeting is considered an agreement to abide by this code of conduct.
Harassment of any participant (attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, staff member, service provider, organizer, or meeting guest) will not be tolerated. Unacceptable behavior includes (but is not limited to) unwanted verbal attention, unwanted touching, intimidation, stalking, shaming, or bullying. Discrimination on the basis of gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, physical appearance, race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity will not be tolerated. Harassment presented in a joking manner is still harassment and constitutes unacceptable behavior. Retaliation for reporting harassment is also unacceptable, as is reporting an incident in bad faith.
Harassment in any form is incompatible with serving as an officer of AGE, and violation of this policy by an officer of AGE will result in immediate termination of such officer.
People wishing to report a violation of this code of conduct should immediately contact a member of the Executive Committee or any member of the Board. Incidents of harassment and discrimination are taken extremely seriously. Confidentiality will be maintained unless disclosure is legally required.
AGE executive officers and members of the Board reserve the right to enforce this code of conduct in any manner deemed appropriate. Anyone violating the code of conduct may be: (a) asked to stop, (b) expelled from the meeting (without refund), and/or (c) prohibited from attending future meetings. Establishing this code of conduct is intended to prevent incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violence, and to maintain the high quality of scientific discourse that our members expect from the AGE meetings.
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Acceptable behavior policy process
If you believe you have been subjected to or have otherwise experienced behavior at an American Aging Association (AGE) Meeting that violates the Associations’ Harassment and Discrimination Policy, please act promptly to report the issue so that steps may be taken to address the situation immediately. There are multiple methods you may use to report your concern. You may notify any member of the AGE Executive Committee or Board, each of whom has been requested to address the matter promptly. If you are reluctant to speak with members of the Executive Committee or Board for any reason, you may notify the staff in the registration desk at the site, who has been instructed in a manner similar to Executive Committee and Board.
The American Aging Association will use its best efforts to investigate complaints fairly, discreetly and completely. We will make every reasonable effort to conduct a rapid inquiry, the results of which typically will be shared with both the individual reporting the issue and the individual(s) who has been accused of violating the Policy. Reports requesting anonymity will be respected, although AGE reserves the right to notify appropriate law enforcement should the allegations be serious enough to warrant such notice. Our ability to investigate or address anonymous reports may be limited or otherwise affected by the need to balance concerns over privacy and fairness to all concerned. Following completion of AGE’s inquiry, any action to be taken by AGE against the person accused of acting inappropriately will be determined by AGE in its sole discretion and may include a request for private or public apologies, discharge from the Meeting, Committee or Board and restrictions on his or her future attendance.
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