ShellCon is committed to creating a conference that is as diverse and inclusive as possible.

We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form.

Because of the nature of challenges facing the security industry today, there may be educational discussions at ShellCon which include some sexually explicit topics, images, and content. However, gratuitously explicit language or imagery for the sake of vulgarity is not appropriate for any ShellCon venue or event. Representatives at sponsorship booths are expected to meet the same standard of professionalism, and the manifest of superfluous sexual appeal (in the manner of “Booth Babes” or similar) is prohibited. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers.

Harassment includes but is not limited to the following:

• Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion.
• Sexual images in public spaces
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
• Harassing photography or recording
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events
• Inappropriate physical contact
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Participants asked to stop any of the above behavior are expected to comply immediately.

When writing a policy like this, it isn’t possible to anticipate every way that participants might interact to create an unwelcoming atmosphere. Let it be known that even if a situation is not explicitly spelled out here, we expect all attendees, staff, speakers, and sponsors to respect the spirit of this policy.

This Code of Conduct is based on the template from the Geek Feminism Wiki, and is available under the Creative Commons Zero License.

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