The Montrose Center’s Safer Spaces Policy: Special Events

The Montrose Center wants those present at our special events to feel safe and be safe while in attendance. In order to uphold the safety of all participants, the Montrose Center upholds the following policy for all official Montrose Center events, as well as external events for which the Montrose Center provides volunteer assistance. In the following paragraphs, “us” and “we” shall refer to the Montrose Center and “event participant(s)” shall refer to all manner of event attendees including speakers, entertainers, emcees, ticketholders, table hosts, and the staff, board and volunteers participating in the event on behalf of the Montrose Center, and all other participants present at the event:

If something or someone makes anyone present at an event uncomfortable or unsafe, no matter how minor it seems, we encourage that it be reported to us. Harassment of event participants, staff or volunteers of the Montrose Center will not be tolerated and anyone violating this policy at our events may be expelled.

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments or attitudes related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion; deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of the event, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants who are asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. The Montrose Center does not view either ignorance or intoxication as an excuse for the above listed types of harassment.

If an event participant should engage in harassing behavior that is reported to us, the Montrose Center will take any action we deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event. If an event participant feels they are being harassed, notices that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, they are encouraged to contact a member of the Montrose Center team to report these concerns. The Montrose Center team will assist participants in contacting venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event.

Whilst we do all that we can to maintain an environment in which our event participants can voice concerns about incidents as and when they occur, we also welcome event participants to report past harassment or incidents related to our events which made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, so that they may be addressed as we deem appropriate moving forward.

The Montrose Center also accepts that we are not above adhering to our own policies, and so this policy and the definitions of harassment and other unsafe behavior included herein shall apply to all staff and volunteers operating on behalf of the Montrose Center.

In these instances, we encourage event participants to report any concerns via email to info@montrosecenter.org. All communications related to this policy will be treated with confidence.