Code of Conduct

AAM 2024 Code of Conduct

The American Alliance of Museums is dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive, and welcoming conference experience for everyone. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying, xenophobia, or racism in any form.

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of others based on human differences.
Bullying is seeking to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Comments or actions that minimize a person’s lived experiences[i], identity, or safety
  • Deliberate misgendering or use of “dead”[ii] or rejected names[iii]
  • Deliberate “outing” of any person’s lived experiences or identity without their consent
  • Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  • Physical contact without consent or after a request to stop
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Deliberate intimidation or stalking of any kind – in person or online
  • Collection or distribution of harassing photography or recordings
  • Threats or acts of violence
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Discrimination/Harassment is not:

  • Feeling persecuted for your social privilege
  • ‘Reverse’ -isms, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism,’ and ‘cisphobia’
  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”
  • Refusal to explain or debate social justice issues when the person being asked is put in a defensive position based on their lived experience, personal identity, or safety
  • Communication in a ‘tone’ you don’t find congenial
  • Discussion of sensitive topics
  • Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions

This Code of Conduct applies to all AAM events, including all conference venues, virtual or in-person, and any conference-related social activities during the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo.

COVID-19, Xenophobia, and Racism

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased feelings of anxiety, isolation, and fear. Along with those feelings, the world has seen an increase in misinformation, xenophobia, and racism. This has resulted in physical, financial, emotional, and psychological harm to our Asian and Pacific Islander colleagues, and will not be tolerated during any AAM event, including this year’s conference. Please only use the names provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” when discussing COVID-19 topics.

Reporting

If you or someone else is being discriminated against or harassed, please report it to AAM as soon as possible. You can do so by completing the form at https://form.jotform.com/81073181684155. You are able to file the report anonymously by not including your name or contact information. We can’t follow up on an anonymous report with you directly, but we will take your comments seriously. We appreciate you sharing your feedback; this will help us to ensure safety at all our events.

Consequences

This Code of Conduct is in place to protect the safety of all attendees. Attendees asked to stop any harassing or discriminatory behavior are expected to comply immediately. AAM staff may take action to redress anything disrupting the event or making the environment unsafe for participants. Anyone engaging in any of the behaviors outlined above may be subject to expulsion with no refund from meeting and related events, or future events.

Recording

Video recording of any presentations or sessions at the AAM Annual Meeting & MusuemExpo is prohibited, except by an AAM‐authorized agent for AAM’s purposes.

Attribution: This Code of Conduct is based on the example policy from the Geek Feminism wiki and uses language with permission from the Nonprofit Technology Conference’s Code of Conduct.

[i] “lived experiences” means the first-hand accounts and impressions of living as a member of a minority or oppressed group.

[ii] “deadnaming” means to use someones old name. It specifically refers to the practice of deliberately referring to a trans person by their pre-transition name. Not only is it disrespectful, it can be considered an act of violence, especially when a person is not publicly out as trans.

[iii] “rejected name” can also include persons who have changed their names for non-transition related reasons such as relationships, political statements, etc.