Creating a BeerAdvocate Festival Code of Conduct

I’m just a girl in the world...

That is all!

 

Awesome that you're doing this @Todd (and BA, as a whole)!

I have one suggestion: Please make sure that the lead person in the reporting system you mention (ie the first person who reviews any reports of sexual harassment and/or assault) is a woman. Perhaps that was already your plan. Just figured I'd mention it.

 

I vaguely recall reading about ComicCon-style conventions grappling with sexual harassment a few years back, and some doing a much better than others in terms of addressing it. There’s probably some literature on the subject.

 

There should be in general better laws in place. Not everyone was raised to respect women and it’s a shame. And the bullshit of “flirting” it’s not a one way street that can’t be the excuse to literally touch someone or be verbally foul. I’m no lawyer or anything it just literally happens anywhere and everywhere any time. At work. Online. In public anywhere. I have two daughters and I will tell you someone will be visiting the dentist if they ever approached them without respect and they know that too. I’m glad to see BA addressing things swiftly.

 

Sometimes drawing awareness to the issue by making it an issue has more effect than the rules instituted. I hope all brewery owners and managers are taking notes in this situation and have seen by the public reaction that this is an issue and are taking steps to police it going forth by implementing and ENFORCING their own codes of conduct regardless of those set by any festivals. How many brewery owners undergo sexual harrassment training? I can't imagine many make it a priority. Perhaps anyone applying for a brewing license/permit should have to undertake that and an equal opportunity hiring seminar.

I applaud Beer Advocate for the steps. Maybe the beer advocate slogan should go from "Respect beer" to "Respect women" for the time being.

My question would be, if a brewery is found to violate the code of conduct, do they simply get banned from Beer Advocate festivals going forth or do you reach out to your contacts at other festivals and share in the info to see if they can be banned from those as well? Most companies have a zero tolerance for this kind of thing. Just curious.

 

IMO the key to success in this effort is 1) awareness, which seems to be where most of the effort is headed in the proposed plans, and 2) consequences. I am less clear on whether the proposed consequences need to be beefed up. Make sure the duration of the consequences is carefully considered, i.e. ejection from one event, prohibited from participation for 3 year? longer? Public shaming via a list of violators? Alsoyou could go so far as to require that participating organizations have and provide for review their written harrassment prevention policy. If they dont have one that may be all you need to know but it could result in very small festivals.

 

Todd, thanks for starting this thread. There are so many beer festival horror stories among Brienne's posts that I think both festival organizers AND attendees need to rethink their roles in the beerfest culture.

And I have to say - as a part of the stereotypical older white male bearded demographic that dominate these events - I rarely thought about the very real threats these fests present for women either attending or working them. There's an eye opening blog on Good Beer Hunting that came out this week detailing the extreme lengths women in the industry have to go to to protect themselves when traveling for and working at beer events. I'd urge everyone to give it a read and consider both how uncomfortable it must be for them as well as any role you personally may play - big or small - that contributes to it.

For me personally, one tangible result of all this is that I will be more vigilant in keeping an eye out for women's well being on the fest floors and intervening if necessary. If somehow we can create a campaign to educate more male fest-goers to adopt this mindset - one of a guardian or protector of some sort - that could be a pretty powerful way to help change the culture. If we get a critical mass of guys on board, who knows ..... maybe we can make it so it's the assholes that are the ones that feel uncomfortable attending fests anymore.

 

Keep it concise.
Presenting something akin to the TOS for many websites/venues (including this forum) will likely cause some folks to immediately scan for and skip to the "I have read and agree to these terms" checkbox. To the layperson, IMO, abundant and often seemingly excessive legalese can spawn suspicions that the provider is primarily trying to build cover for liability issues.
Inculcate a "behave or be gone" mindset, with a not-to-casual mention of potential repercussions for bad behavior.

Or maybe two checkboxes:
One with something like "I will do right", worded in regular people terms.
Another for the participant to make their mark that they have read and agree to the long-winded stuff that attempts to encompass the multitude of conceivable bad actions, and that they understand there will be consequences for breaching.

 

Damn, thanks for the link. That was a tough read...

Cheers to BA for being proactive.

 

Here is a rule.. Anyone who is caught messing around with a woman gets to be the urinal for the remainder of the festival.

 

At what point in American history did an individual's safety become the responsibility of a 3rd party? It's a totally alien concept to me, but then, I'm the furthest thing from a Europhile that exists. Did an entire generation entirely skip civics and social studies and history, in general, or what?

And if some asshat man at a beerfest is treating a woman badly, it is not only your right, but your duty to "take care of business". If any men still exist, that is.

Flummoxed,
in "fly-over" country.

P.S.- I suppose I feel a bit badly that this woman has to live in a society fearfully that the simple presence of good people would not ensure her safety. I suppose she fears she'll be next next woman attacked while everyone stands around recording the incident on their smart phones to be expeditiously uploaded to social media for "likes". Sick.

 

That's like saying we should make sure murder never happens again.

 

Lots and lots of cameras all over the fest site, and make sure attendees know they're there. Include something like "my image may be used for the promotion or improvement of future fests..." in the ToS. Then put any inappropriate behavior on the web for all (including employers) to see. Cameras and data storage are pretty cheap these days.

edit: faces of victims can be blurred before posting.

 

It’s a sad essay on our society, but I applaud the efforts. Everyone, from a woman to a man, regardless of race, should be treated with respect. Hopefully setting this example will catch on...

 

I suggest it becomes the responsibility of authorities to act when laws are broken. I suggest it becomes the responsibility of a business or organization when they sponsor an event, especially when they are legally liable for the actions of guests. I suggest that when people "take care of business" aggressively/violently it becomes the responsibility of both the event sponsor and authorities. Hope that helps.