Guest post: How To Report Sexual Harassment.

[seanan_mcguire]

My friend Elise Matthesen asked me to post this; the words below are hers. I agreed because this is important information for every member of our community to be aware of.

Because this is a guest post, I will be watching the comments carefully for signs of incivility, but will not be responding to all comments.

Thank you for reading.

ETA: The

Comments

[morningapproach]

Thank you for this excellent post. I will be sure to keep these tips in mind if I ever need to report sexual harrassment or anything at a con or anywhere else.

On a side note, thank you for reporting <3 It is a hard thing to do at times, and I am so glad you were there to take a stand for his other victims as well.

[jimhines]

The contacts list she mentioned for reporting is at http://www.jimchines.com/2012/07/reporting-sexual-harassment-in-sff-2/

[bercilakslady]

Thank you, Jim.

[ravenrose]

Thank you, Elise Matthesen, for your courage to do what needed to be done, and for putting this guide forward. Thank you Seanan for posting this on Elise's behalf. There is now yet another reason why I consider you to be one of my favorite writers. :-)

[ext_1134288]

Thanks so much for posting this. Harassment happens, and it's not okay. I'm a romance author in my 20's, fairly outgoing and heavily tattooed. People perceive me based on my appearance alone and judge it as being acceptable to be less than respectful to me. With my history, I know how important it is to stand up for myself and squash those moments, be it by telling the person it's not okay, or going to officials. Too often people accept what happens to them as just a misunderstanding, a bad pass or something else. And it's not okay. There isn't one single second of it that's okay. I get pretty ticked these days when it happens, but that's because I know the tools at my disposal to fight back. I hope more people read this and realize they can stand up and should.

[dragonflymn]

Can I copy and post elsewhere? With credit, obv. May have been written for cons and from a professional standpoint, but most if not all points will stand for reporting at college as well.

[seanan_mcguire]

I just checked in with Elise, and you have full permission to re-post.