00:45:21 Ron: Question for later: What % of accusations do you believe are false? Using language like "balance" implies a large number, but statistics show that false accusations are exceedingly rare. 00:51:33 K Urquhart: The slide was gone quickly but I foresee potential trouble if a serious infraction occurs at a dance and the person named is not confronted until after the dance, not only for the safety of other dancers but for the victim to feel supported by the committee - can you explain this process a bit more in depth? 00:51:54 Kim Gandy: Appreciate Ron's question about "balance" and agree with their concerns. 00:53:31 Emily: Here in Ottawa, we have the tools that Avia talked about earlier. What I'm finding as an organizer is that deadling with the complaints gets quite exhausting for our board. We take a lot of time to talk about these thoughtfully but the process takes time and lots of energy. When there's so much else to look after as an organizer, this can feel like it pulls our team down sometimes. Thoughts on dealing with this??? 01:00:11 genevievekent: Angela, Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Genderfree dancing. It is very illuminating and very necessary. 01:00:23 K Urquhart: seconded 01:12:49 Bob Peterson: how much should we expect of the caller? how is the caller needed in creating safety? 01:12:53 Christine: How do you encourage people to report in the first place? 01:14:06 robynlauster: Situation: older man, very reliable volunteer, good dancer but now very hard of hearing and tends to make suggestive comments (at least to me — and I am 74!). I perceive him “helping” younger dancers and “teaching” them during dance — even in walk-thru — and at breaks. He sometimes has mis-heard the call and causes confusion. How to approach him? 01:16:41 K Urquhart: Thanks Diane for clarifying that 01:21:34 genevievekent: Wanted to add to Angela’s excellent response about Safety Team: in my community, we strive to have Safety Teams who do not serve on the Board for two reasons. One, because people may feel intimidated to report to people in power of how the dances are organized. Second, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in someone needs to report a Board member. (In our community, if someone needs to report a Safety Team member, they can report to the Board.) 01:23:03 Will Loving: One thing I did regularly as an organizer was to walk around on the break and introduce myself, particularly to younger and newer female presenting dancers. Whenever it was appropriate, I would say, “if you ever see, experience or hear about anything that is off, please talk directly to me or any other organizer at the dance.” Giving that pointed verbal position really helped encouraging newer folks to not hesitate. 01:23:35 Will Loving: *verbal permission 01:24:13 Christine: what are your thoughts about a place where people can leave anonymous reports. 01:25:48 Will Loving: Will Loving: One issue that I’ve wound up fielding questions from boards about is when the person being complained about is a longtime contributor and past board member. This was an extremely challenging situation for the board involved 01:26:12 genevievekent: Christine: I am also curious if other groups have implemented a way to leave anonymous reports. For our community, we created an email address that goes to the Safety Team (example: safety@mydancegroupwebsite.com) where people can reach out if they feel too much anxiety about reporting in person. 01:26:49 Will Loving: Establishing policies for newer dances is easier I think that dance organizations that may have been around for decades and have tolerated some behavior 01:27:50 Will Loving: that is now getting complaints where it may have been tolerated in the past 01:29:31 Will Loving: Agree completely, Avia! 01:29:39 Will Loving: Now is always the right time! 01:31:13 Will Loving: One thing we did at the Downtown Amherst dance was include non-board members who have expertise in Mental Health. Having those volunteers on the Safety Group can be extremely helpful for some individuals 01:31:57 Will Loving: For *dealing* with some indiviudlas 01:32:03 genevievekent: Also wanted to add regarding implementing new policies in older dance groups: it is extremely important to RECORD complaints and documentation about feedback, counseling, etc. If longtime dancers end up having to be banned and want to take legal action, it is imperative to show that it was not a snap decision and that the individual was informed of the consequences of their behavior. 01:32:21 Emily: Shared Weight organizers! 01:32:36 genevievekent: By record: I mean written documentation. This was a piece of advice I received when I consulted with a lawyer about our Code of Conduct and policies. 01:32:55 carlmorgan: Yes, more established communities addressing this could be challenging, but in my opinion it needs to be done. Inappropriate or unsafe behavior should never be tolerated. If there is a long time dancer that has received a complaint, or is having problems (hearing, etc)., I think it is even more important to address the issue. If the person is truly supporting the community, the person should be willing to listen to improve the broader community. 01:33:14 robynlauster: Thank you! 01:33:23 K Urquhart: Thank you everyone 01:33:33 Emily Sharp: Thanks so much! 01:33:35 genevievekent: Thank you! 01:33:54 Al Rogers: Thanks everyone - a welll-spent 40 minutes! 01:34:03 Dorcas: Great resources. Thanks everyone for the content and the questions. 01:34:09 martin: Thanks, all! 01:34:13 Kim Gandy: Thank you all, and thanks to CDSS for creating this space. 01:34:40 Will Loving: http://www.cdss.org/images/newsletter_archives/articles/CDSS_News_winter_2015-2016_proactive_management_loving.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3Hr0-owO9F-9u1e8rzZ68zgDLWhZYoLRA0u80LdhJNA5vNvcTRB7pEXNg 01:35:01 Fred: Thank you. Hoping for a way to continue this discussion as my group continues to grow our strategies. 01:35:08 Will Loving: Thanks everyone! 01:36:33 carlmorgan: Thank you- especially to the organizers, presenters, and chat participants! 01:36:39 Michelle Lynskey: Thank you so much! 01:36:52 Al Rogers: my math was bad --- make that a well-spent 75 minutes :-(