Incident Response Policy
Effective from 2021-12-01
Effective from 2021-12-01
The following details how Hackathons UK attempts to deal with various incidents that may occur at events.
Incident refers to a situation in which a participant at event is in need extraordinary support from a staff member, such as, but not limited to a code of conduct violation or medical emergency
Code of Conduct Violation refers to a breach of the code of conduct enforced at the event, typically the Hackathons UK Code of Conduct.
Medical Emergency refers to any situation in which an individual needs advanced medical attention from a first aider, paramedic, or similar. Minor injuries that can be fully treated by a trained first aider do not generally constitute a medical emergency, in these cases, the designation is at the discretion of a first aider.
Staff Member (or "staff") refers to an employee or volunteer of, and operating the in the capacity of a representative of, Hackathons UK Limited
Patient refers to, in the context of a medical emergency, the person requiring the medical attention.
Try to get as much of the incident in written form by the reporter. If you cannot, transcribe it yourself as it was told to you. The important information to gather include the following:
Identifying information (name, etc.) of the participant doing the harassing
The behaviour that was in violation
The approximate time of the behaviour (if different than the time the report was made)
The circumstances surrounding the incident
Other people involved in the incident
Other people who know of the incident
Prepare an initial response to the incident. This initial response is very important and will set the tone. Depending on the severity/details of the incident, please follow these guidelines:
If there is any general threat to attendees or the safety of anyone including conference staff is in doubt, summon security or police.
Offer the victim a private place to sit
Ask "is there a friend or trusted person who you would like to be with you?" (if so, arrange for someone to fetch this person)
Ask them "how can I help?"
Provide them with your list of emergency contacts if they need help later
If everyone is presently physically safe, involve law enforcement or security only at a victim's request.
There are also some guidelines as to what not to do as an initial response:
Do not overtly invite them to withdraw the complaint or mention that withdrawal is OK. This suggests that you want them to do so, and is therefore coercive. "If you're OK with it " suggests that you are by default pursuing it and is not coercive.
Do not ask for their advice on how to deal with the complaint. This is a staff responsibility
Do not offer them input into penalties. This is the staff's responsibility
Once something is reported to a staff member, immediately contact the incidents team via the phone number listed under reporting procedure. The main objectives of this meeting are to find out the following:
What happened?
Who did the actions?
When did it occur?
Are we doing anything about it?
Once the incidents team has been contacted, they will work with the staff member at the event to loop in the event organizer if they are not already involved.
The organizer and Hackathons UK will then communicate with the alleged harasser. Make sure to inform them of what has been reported about them.
Allow the alleged harasser to give their side of the story to the staff. After this point, if report stands, let the alleged harasser know what actions will be taken against them.
Some things for the staff to consider when dealing with Code of Conduct offenders:
Warning the harasser to cease their behaviour and that any further reports will result in sanctions
Requiring that the harasser avoid any interaction with, and physical proximity to, their victim for the remainder of the event
Immediately ending any event volunteer responsibilities and privileges the harasser holds
Requiring that the harasser not volunteer for future events Hackathons UK runs (either indefinitely or for a certain time period)
Requiring that the harasser immediately leave the event and not return
Banning the harasser from future events (either indefinitely or for a certain time period)
Publishing an account of the harassment
Give accused attendees a place to appeal to if there is one, but in the meantime the report stands. Keep in mind that it is not a good idea to encourage an apology from the harasser.
It is very important how we deal with the incident publicly. Our policy is to make sure that everyone aware of the initial incident is also made aware that it is not policy to share specifics, but that official action has been taken - while still respecting the privacy of individual attendees. When speaking to individuals (those who are aware of the incident, but were not involved with the incident) about the incident it is a good idea to keep the details out.
Depending on the incident, the Hackathons UK Incidents Team may decide to make one or more public announcements. If necessary, this will be done with a short announcement. No one other than Hackathons UK or someone delegated authority from Hackathons UK should make any announcements.
If some attendees were angered by the incident, it is best to apologize to them that the incident occurred to begin with. If there are residual hard feelings, suggest to them to write an email to Hackathons UK. It will be dealt with accordingly.
In the event of a medical emergency the first priority is the safety of those involved. Once notified, staff should the take the following steps, prioritising the safety and well being of the patient:
If a staff member in the immediate vicinity of the incident at the time it occurs and is the first authority to be made aware, they should start by ensuring that a trusted person is with the patient, this is usually an organisers, volunteer, other staff member, but may also be a friend or family member where applicable.
If there is a first-aider or other trained medical professional present at the event, either contact them, or ask an organiser, volunteer, or similar to find them (a) When a first-aider or other trained medical professional arrives at the scene of the incident, the staff member present should ensure that the first aider or professional are able to work without interference, and should follow any instructions given to them.
Contact the emergency services (999), the operator will be better equipped to decide if paramedics are needed (a) On some university campuses there is a policy to call a different local emergency line first, if this is the case, the respective number should be called. If you do not know, or are not aware, contact 999.
If there is an immediate action that can be taken by an untrained person, such as the use of an Epinephrine Autoinjector (EpiPen), or Automated External Defibrillator (AED), such action should be taken where appropriate, ensuring to follow the directions of the tool or device.
After a medical emergency is resolved, the staff member should prepare a report of the incident. The report should include (where possible):
Identifying information (name, etc.) of the patient
The nature of the incident
The approximate time of the incident
The circumstances surrounding the incident
Other people involved in the incident
Other people who know of the incident
What actions were taken, e.g. was the incident resolved by a first aider, were paramedics called, did the patient have to go to hospital?
If you feel uncomfortable or think there may be a potential violation of the code of conduct, please report it immediately using one of the following methods. All reporters have the right to remain anonymous.
Contact a hackathon organiser or volunteer at the hackathon
Contact a member of Hackathons UK staff at the hackathon
Call the Hackathons UK Incidents team at +44 20 4538 2211
Email Hackathons UK at incidents@hackathons.org.uk
This policy only applies at events run by Hackathons UK or where there is a formal partnership with the organisers where enforcement of this policy is agreed.
This incident response policy is adapted from the Major League Hacking Incident Response Policy.
Hackathons UK Limited reserves the right to revise, make exceptions to, or otherwise amend these policies in whole or in part. If you have any questions regarding these policies, please email hi@hackathons.org.uk