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I’ll be a guest at next week’s Detroit FanFare con in Dearborn, and I’m happy to say that in advance of the event they have posted a Harassment Policy. More and more cons are doing this, and more and more sites like mine should make it clear what shows do and don’t have such posted policies. I’m guessing that by next year, pretty much every con will have such policies posted.

The primary concerns of the promoters, staff, and volunteers of Detroit Fanfare Comic Con is the safety, security, and enjoyment of all patrons, guests, and vendors present. If you feel you have been the victim of any form of harassment (sexual or non-sexual), we want to know about it immediately.

During Convention Floor Hours:

If you feel you have been the victim of any form of harassment (verbal or nonverbal), immediately proceed to the Registration Desk, Bazaar Registration Desk, or the convention merchandise desk. Upon reporting the incident at one of these locations, at least one of the three Detroit Fanfare Comic Con promoters will be contacted along with security. A description of the event and of the person or persons involved will be taken. Appropriate measures to be taken will be decided with you on the spot.

After Convention Floor Hours:

If you feel you have been the victim of any form of harassment after the convention show floor has closed, proceed to any hotel phone and ask to be connected to hotel security. You can also proceed to the hotel front desk to have hotel security notified as well. At least one of the three Detroit Fanfare Comic Con promoters will be contacted. A description of the event and of the person or persons involved will be taken. Appropriate measure to be taken will be decided with you on the spot.

Appropriate measures for any type of harassment may involve the removal of the accused harasser from the premises and/or the notification of the Dearborn Police Department.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. “I said ‘cans’, not ‘tits’, sir.”

    I think it’ll work out, Johnny. False reporting sexual assault is a statistical myth.

  2. It sucks that it had to come to this.
    It also sucks this wasn’t implemented years and years ago.

    I haven’t been to one of those big box conventions in years (im not sure this one counts as one of those), are booth babes and porn stars still common?

  3. does this mean the years of Frank Miller getting gropey at hotel bars, Charles Brownstein assaulting women in hot tubs, and Joe Quesada holding editorial meetings at warehouse strip clubs are long gone?

    can it please mean that?

  4. Policies are a good start. Let’s see that the ANTI-harassment policy is well publicized at the site and on the signup website. (“Sorry dude, didn’t know, honestly. No one seemed to mind last year, dude!”)
    Wall signage, inclusion in the official con info sheet, etc.

  5. I never cared for bullies or bullying at these shows – and I was way ahead of the “current fashion” on this. Years ago, I used to go to one of the big yearly costume/cosplay events with a big (kinda thuggish) guy who never wore more than his usual street attire. The fellow had anger issues and the show seemed to bring them out in spades as he would constantly grab random costumed persons out of the passing masses and rough them up for a few moments — finally I’d seen enough: I confronted my buddy (despite his being about twice my size and trained fighter) and gave him a choice: he would either have to stop his violent acts entirely or return to shows dressed as one of Alex’s Droogs so he could at least terrorize others while in character. Somewhere in the mix of being confronted by morale authority and practical suggestion my friend saw fit to take pause and I can’t recall seeing him knock anyone around at a show after that. Perhaps, in the future, there will be special rooms designated for bully behavior, just as the Anime section is given its own section at a lot of present shows (?)

  6. Horatio … sounds like a bad idea … This friend of yours either needs help or incarceration.

    If you really want to stop harassment at conventions, I think we need to start with the people who make YouTube videos. “Hey, guys! I’m at (blank) comicon, where we’re gonna interview some cosplayers!” What follows is the usual humorless drivel where an asshole with a microphone asks inappropriate questions, and an innocent cosplayer is put on the spot. Anybody with a camera and a microphone claiming to be a reporter should be required to register at a special desk, and have the ground rules of behavior explained to them. Perhaps there should be a special security detail just to throw them out on their asses when they go ahead and ask the inappropriate questions anyway.

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