Policy Framework for Underworld LARP Guildhouses: Harassment and Discrimination

Underworld LARP Global and its individual Guilds are committed to providing an environment free of discrimination and harassment, in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, are able to contribute fully, and have equal opportunities.  Every person has the right to freedom from harassment and discrimination. We’ve designed a framework for Guilds to build their harassment policies from.

• “Harassment” means engaging in a course of unwanted and inappropriate comments or conduct against a person that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.
• “Sexual harassment” means engaging in a course of annoying and unwanted comments or conduct against a person because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.
• “Sexual Assault” means sexual contact with another person without that other person’s consent. Consent is the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question.
• “Discrimination” means an action or decision that treats a person or group negatively for reasons such as their race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
  

Please note:

• Reasonable action taken by Guildmasters relating to the management and direction of staff and volunteers is not harassment.
• Harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated, condoned, or ignored at Underworld LARP. If a claim of harassment or discrimination is proven, disciplinary measures will be applied, up to and including permanent removal from game, i.e. banning.
• Underworld LARP is committed to maintaining a comprehensive strategy to address harassment and discrimination, including; providing an effective and fair complaints procedure; and promoting appropriate standards of conduct at all time.
• Underworld Global expects that each of its Guilds will maintain a safe environment for its playerbase. Local Guildmasters will moderate and arbitrate the behavior and enforcement of their players. Underworld Global will moderate the behavior of the Guildmasters and the enforcement of their policies.

Below is the procedure if you have been the victim of harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment or sexual assault. This process will almost always start with your local Guildmaster unless they are implicated in the accusation. 

Framework For Filing A Complaint 

In short: The complainant must file the complaint in writing via email with either the Guildmasters or the Guild Liaison, or if required, with Underworld Global if the Guildmasters and/or Liaison are not appropriate. 

Options for Filing a Complaint:

1. If this is an emergency, please contact the Guildmasters by any means necessary and/or your local police department.
2. Email the Guildmasters. Complaints should be in writing via email to the Guildmaster’s official accounts. If complaints were made in person at events, especially for things like time-sensitive issues, a follow up email to make the complaint official must be completed post-event. In regards to issues that are not time sensitive at events, Guildmasters will only take action only after receiving the email and performing a proper investigation. Complaint emails should go directly to the Guildmasters and not to staff or volunteer positions other than the Liaison. Complaints made to Shapers are not formal complaints. Complaints sent to the shaper email account may not be treated as formal complaints, but Guildmasters should ask the player sending the complaint to the shaper account if the player wants to file a formal complaint to the Guildmasters account.
3. Email the Guild Liaison. Each guild should have an alternative contact person (known as a “Liaison”) besides the Guildmasters to send their complaints to. Perhaps the complaint would prefer to speak to someone of a particular gender or would like a second opinion regarding if they should escalate the complaint to an official one. The Liaison’s identity should be clearly identified in the signature of the email as well as in the Guild’s staff directory so people know who they’ll be talking to about potentially sensitive information. This person will be instructed to keep complaints received in their official capacity (to their official emails) strictly confidential. This person is the only exception to the ‘no second party complaints’ rule – this person can bring complaints to the Guildmasters attention if the player requests it. This person cannot keep a complainant’s identity secret from the Guildmasters once the complainant has directed the Liaison to file a complaint on their behalf, but may request that the information be kept confidential from the Guildmasters until that point. Note that the Guild Liaison cannot conduct an official investigation or issue punishments, only the Guildmasters can.
4. Email Underworld Global. Anyone can send a complaint to Underworld Global about concerns within their own guild but know that unless the complaint is about the Guild Owners themselves (meaning, it’s something that the Guildmasters could not investigate without bias or damage to the brand) it is best to contact the Guildmaster instead. Please recognize that Underworld Global will refer complaints to the local Guildmaster unless that Guildmaster is implicated in the accusation. (See final section on when and why Underworld Global would step in).

Important Notes:

• In almost every circumstance, Guildmasters should not accept anonymous complaints. It is difficult if not impossible to perform a proper investigation or take action from them. Anonymous complaints are different from complaints sent in confidence, the difference being that the Guild receiving the complaint knows who it came from.
• A complaint must be made by the victim in the case for an investigation to begin. Guildmasters are not required to investigate or follow up on complaints made by second parties. If you see a problem, the best thing you can do is support your friend and encourage them to make the complaint
• While we don’t encourage anonymous complaints, if there is no other option then they can be sent to the Guildmaster with the intent of bringing something to the Guildmaster’s attention, so they can monitor that player in the future.
• Once a complainant submits a complaint the Guildmaster is permitted to take action to protect other players based on the information provided. While the Guildmaster should do what they can to keep identities in confidence if desired, they should also not risk the future safety of other players if the accuser requests that no action be taken.  

Suggested Framework for Investigating a Complaint

1. Review the complaint. Upon receiving the complaint from the player, the Guildmasters should respond to confirm receipt and confirm that they’ll be starting an investigation into the complaint. The Guildmasters at that time can ask the complainant to provide any evidence or the names of witnesses to the Guildmasters.

• In situations where criminal behavior is alleged, the complainant should be encouraged to contact the police. Guildmasters are not law enforcement and should never believe they are acting in their place.
• If appropriate, the Guildmasters may advise other Guildmasters or Underworld Global of the complaints, the outcome and the accused’s punishment, as appropriate or required.
  

2. Inform the Accused. The accused should be made aware of the investigation as soon as possible after the complaint is filed. At that time, the accused should be informed of the accusations, a typical range of punishments (though it should be clear that the possible punishments may change as the investigation progresses) and an approximate deadline by which the Guildmasters will reach a conclusion or finish the investigation. The Guildmasters at that time can ask the accused to provide any evidence or the names of witnesses to the Guildmasters in response to the accusations.

• In most situations, the accused should be placed on a temporary suspension while the investigation is ongoing.

3. Investigate and collect evidence. During the investigation, the Guildmasters should collect evidence (screenshots, text messages, group chats, etc.) and speak to witnesses directly (whether via text or over voice chat). Evidence should be in written form such as emails or screenshots as much as possible. Those with first-hand experience should be prioritized.

4. Report Conclusions and Impose Consequences. Once the investigation is concluded, the Guildmasters should prepare a written record of outlining what the Guildmasters learned, what the Guildmasters determined happened, and the consequences that will flow from it. This does not have to be long. The Guildmasters should then inform both the accused and the complainant of the results of the investigation and any consequences or outcomes of the complaint.

• Witnesses and other involved parties are not entitled to know the outcome of the complaint and investigation process, but the complaint and the accused may share the outcome with them if they wish.

Important Notes:

• As much as possible, Guildmasters should do the investigation into the harassment complaint themselves. It should be thorough but expedient.
• An investigation should be completed within a reasonable amount of time. An average of one month or less after the complaint email is received is standard but exceptions will exist. It is important that complaints aren’t placed on the “back burner” indefinitely.
• Players who intentionally attempt to mislead the Guildmasters with false information, or file complaints they know to be false, may be suspended or banned. 

Examples of Prohibited Conduct

A few examples of prohibited conduct and their suggested consequences include:

• • Criminal assault or sexual assault
    Consequence: Permanent ban from that guild, possible petition for a Global ban.
  • Harassment, in the form of excessive “flirting” (even after a “no” was given) or making players uncomfortable in a similar manner
    Consequence, first offence: Written warning to the offending player.
    Consequence, second offence: Suspension or permanent ban from that guild
  • Harassment, in the form of bullying (verbal put downs, excessive negative commentary, excessive negative gossiping, creating an environment encouraging the deliberate exclusion of a player or the creation of a ‘toxic game environment’)
    Consequence: Written warning and/or suspension depending on severity.
  • Real world racism, sexism and homophobia.
    Consequence: Written warning and suspension, the length of which should mirror the severity of the actions

Other kinds of conduct may also be prohibited by the Guildmasters and Underworld Global as they may in their discretion determine and as needed. Guildmasters may also issue alternative consequences at their discretion.

How and When Underworld Global steps in:

If there is a conflict of interest or bias on behalf of the Guildmasters when it comes to investigating a player for harassment, the guild must establish an investigative team from within their guild and with approval from Underworld Global. It goes without saying that this team should also not be biased. Once a team is approved, they can investigate on behalf of the Guildmasters and report their findings to Underworld Global. Underworld Global may choose to change the results of the investigation if it’s deemed to be unfair or biased or if Underworld Global possesses additional evidence. Underworld Global is not required to present that evidence to the investigative team but will endeavour to take all steps to do so. Underworld Global will then contact the Guildmasters and inform them of their team’s decision(s) and recommend action. 

In extreme situations, Underworld Global will take direct action. This is mostly covered in the Guild’s franchise agreement but an example of such a situation might be when the Guild Owner themselves has been accused.