2023 code-of-conduct
IEEE Secure Development (SecDev) Conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
- Sexual images in public spaces.
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following.
- Harassing photography or recording.
- Sustained disruption of talks or other events.
- Inappropriate physical contact.
- Unwelcome sexual attention.
- Offensive comments related to age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religion, gender, sexual or affectional orientation, gender identity, gender expression, appearance, matriculation, political affiliation, marital status, veteran status.
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
Event organizers may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, event organizers retain the right to take any actions to keep the event a welcoming environment for all participants. This includes warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. We expect participants to follow these rules at all event spaces—i.e., virtual conference platform, hotel venue, and event-related social spaces. We think people should follow these rules outside event activities too!
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Harassment and code of conduct violations reduce the value of our event for everyone. We want to provide a safe, inclusive environment at our event. And people who report unacceptable behavior help us cultivate a safe and inclusive environment.
To make a report: Email the general chair and the steering committee chair.
When taking a personal report, we will ensure you are in a safe environment and cannot be overheard. We may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once in a safe environment, we will ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we will handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won’t be asked to confront anyone and we won’t tell anyone who you are.
If you are being harassed by a member of the SecDev community outside event spaces, we still want to know about it. We will take all good-faith reports of harassment by community members seriously. This includes harassment outside event spaces and harassment that took place at any point in time.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, they may be sanctioned or expelled from the event without a refund at the discretion of the organizers. Further action may be taken by IEEE in accordance with its policies covering code of conduct (9.25 Civility Policy, 9.26 Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment), whose consequences may include expulsion from membership in the IEEE; see the IEEE policies, IEEE Technical Activities procedures and the IEEE Member Code of Conduct for more information on these further IEEE actions.