Code of Conduct

FRS wishes to create a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment at our meetings to enable scientific discourse. It is the responsibility of all participants, including attendees, vendors, FRS staff, volunteers, and everyone else at FRS meetings, to conduct themselves in a respectful manner that is welcoming and supportive to each other and free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. FRS’ code of conduct for meetings is derived from its mission as follows: 

1. Participants should understand and support FRS’ mission.

2. Participants shall not engage in any action that could be considered bullying, threatening, or that implies or inflicts physical or emotional harm.

3. Participants shall not discriminate, harass, or take any inappropriate actions based on any characteristic protected by applicable law, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, country of residence, citizenship, language, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, economic status, marital status, or/and physical appearance.

4. Participants shall not engage in any form of harassment, including but not limited to inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.

5. Participants will comply with all applicable laws and regulations of the relevant government authorities, as well as all rules, safety guidelines, and regulations of the venue for any FRS-hosted event.

6. Participants are prohibited from engaging in unauthorized photography or recording, including within the event environment for use on social media, without the prior permission of the event organizer, the individuals to be photographed/recorded, and/or owners of any underlying content.

7. Participants shall fully disclose all potential and actual conflicts of interest, including but not limited to distinguishing whether they are speaking as an individual, on behalf of a third party, or in an FRS capacity.

8. Violations of this Policy at FRS-hosted events or in connection with participation in other FRS activities must be reported promptly either to the FRS meeting staff or the FRS Local Organizing Committee (LOC). All reported concerns will be reviewed in a timely manner. Where appropriate, the LOC will investigate the allegations as reasonably promptly as possible. Upon completion of the investigation, the LOC will, in coordination with the FRS International Advisory Committee (IAC), inform the appropriate governing agencies of the results of the investigation so that the agencies can take such actions as they may determine appropriate to ensure any violation of this Policy is not repeated.

9. Any Participant who, in good faith, reports a violation of this Policy shall not be subject to retaliation.