This guidance is provided to TDL staff and TCDL committee members to help facilitate an appropriate response to a report:
Ensure privacy
If a complaint is made in-person, find a private space to talk.
Example: Is it okay if I find a space where we can talk privately?
Be ready to listen
Please respond as immediately as possible. If you need time to get into a head-space that will allow you to focus, and it feels appropriate to do so, ask to meet at a later – but ASAP – time.
Example: May I take a few minutes to gather a few thoughts? I want to be able to focus on what you’re saying and find a space for us to talk privately.
Let them do the talking
Seek understanding. Ask these questions.
- Can you tell me what happened?
If applicable, gently interrupt to let the person know that you are a mandatory reporter and that you are required to report any incidents of stalking, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or dating violence to the Title IX office.
“Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. I do want to let you know that I am required to report this incident to the University to ensure that you know about the options, resources, and remedies available to you. After I submit the report, the Title IX Case Manager will send you an email to discuss the ways the University can assist you, but you are not obligated to respond. In almost every situation, you are in control of whether or not to move forward with an investigation, and any action taken in response to the situation will be up to you. Our main goal is to provide you with immediate support and protect all students and employees from a hostile or discriminatory environment. (See Title IX FAQs here.)
UT’s Confidential Campus Resources
- How did it make you feel?
- How do you feel now?
- What would you like to happen next? Is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything that we haven’t covered that you would like me to know?
- Determine how you can be accountable to them for taking the requested action and agree on a timeline. Ask if you can give them your email address if that feels appropriate.
NOTE: If you need or want help from a fellow committee member or TDL staff member, ask permission of the reporting party first and honor their wishes.
Post-conversation
Take as much time as they / you need to talk. Here are some next steps to take after the conversation.
Here is a list of possible responses you can prepare for:
- No action (if it’s decided the report is not an actual Code of Conduct [CoC] violation or if the reporting attendee requests no action)
- Mediation and restorative justice if this is an ongoing relationship
- Private or public reprimand
- Requiring public apology
- Requiring participant to cease offensive behavior
- Requiring participant cease contact with certain other attendees
- Canceling a talk, presentation, or session
- Not publishing to DSpace the participant’s slides
- Removing participant from venue without refund of registration fees
If action is requested / warranted immediately
- The goal is to address the issue in an appropriate way while also working to prevent further harm. Did the violation happen intentionally? Is the violation ongoing?
- Except in cases of immediate physical harm or where delay of action would cause further unwarranted harm (i.e., ongoing aggression or sexual harassment), one person cannot unilaterally promise immediate action without consulting with at least one member of the designated CoC response team composed of TDL staff (executive director, deputy director, communications manager).
- If people are in immediate physical danger, it may be appropriate to contact law enforcement. Unless it is an emergency, as much as possible, defer to the wishes of the person making the report about whether to involve the police.
- In all other cases, meet with members of the CoC response team ASAP to:
- Confirm report
- Confirm that the incident is, in fact, a CoC violation
- Determine who committed the violation, if one took place
- Determine appropriate response/resolution
- Reporting TDL Staff Members/TCDL Planning Committee Members and/or members of the response team will disclose if they have any conflicts of interest with the incident (e.g, they are friends with an involved party or anything that would make it difficult for them to be neutral) and decide if they should be involved further.
- The reporting attendee will be informed of the action taken in response to their report and the reasoning behind it.
- Public statements about the action will only take place if the violation occurred in a public context and if silence about the response would erode trust in the CoC process.
If action is requested / warranted at a later time
- The same workflow will take place, just at the end of the day/conference.
Report the complaint to TDL
You can report complaints to TDL by sharing with one of our staff either by email, Slack, or in person at the conference; emailing us at info@tdl.org, which is monitored by TDL staff; or filling out TDL’s Suggestion Box, an anonymous Google Form that is checked by TDL staff.
Title IX
We, as staff in higher education institutions, are required to report any Title IX violations, such as sexual harassment or abuse. You may report a Title IX violation by phone or online. Report a Title IX violation at a TDL/TCDL event here.
You can do this
Someone came to you with a problem, which means they implicitly trust you to help them. You can do this. Trust yourself. You are trusted and supported by TDL and our committee.