APIDA Caucus General Code of Conduct

Adapted, with permission, from the We Here Safe Space Agreement/Code of Conduct

The AAPI Caucus seeks to provide a welcoming, professionally engaging, supportive, safe community for our members. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Discriminatory language or imagery (including sexual) is not appropriate. Harassment is understood as any behavior that threatens or demeans another person or group, or produces an unsafe environment. It includes offensive verbal comments or non-verbal expressions related to gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religious or political beliefs; sexual or discriminatory images in public spaces (which includes online spaces); deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Intention does not preclude results. This Code of Conduct extends to every space in which we are organized: online private communities, email communication, in-person communication and meetups, and online events.

How to Be

Note: Community norms will continue to grow or change as needed. 

Recognize the multiplicities of our community.

Don’t assume your ancestral values or trauma are shared values or trauma and vice versa. Please be aware of language that evokes ancestral trauma or terms that are specific to an ethnicity or culture that is not your own. 

Respect privacy… but also be aware that the Internet is not private. 

Please do not share anything written in an online medium, or repeat anything said at meetups with people not in the Caucus. Sharing a post/comment without the author’s consent could lead to negative repercussions for the author, even if you don’t think it will. 

Be open to learning from one another. 

Since there are multiplicities within our community, we will not understand everything a colleague is going through. We might make mistakes. This is fine, as long as you’re doing it with sensitivity to vulnerability and an openness to learning. 

Own the impact of your words, regardless of whether or not the impact reflects your intention.

It may be difficult to understand the intention and feeling behind written words on a screen. While members should understand this, we also ask our members to hear people out if they have taken words in a way that was unintended. 

‘Listen’ as much as you ‘speak.’

Check yourself - are you posting your opinions more than offering support? Are you discounting someone’s experience because it is not your own? Let’s be here for each other rather than overload the group with personal statements/opinions. 

Be an active bystander. 

If you happen to see a post, exchange, or whatever it may be that is questionable, please reach out to either the author for clarification or to a member of the Steering Committee.

Do not assume pronouns, genders, or sexual preferences.  

Try non-gendered language, such as (singular) “they,” “folks,” “chairperson,” “partner,” (as opposed to someone’s wife, boyfriend, etc.). In conversation, try asking “what are your pronouns?” if the situation calls for pronouns. 

React in good faith if someone says something disagreeable. 

Try asking if you understand them correctly and repeat back what you think you understand. Then ask more questions regarding what you find disagreeable. Try to keep in mind that the Caucus is here to uplift our voices, not tear each other down.