Inclusivity and Harassment

Conference organisers are required to include a statement of inclusivity and accessibility, including an anti-harassment statement in the programme and on any individually managed website. As a body, the GMS is committed to valuing diversity, difference and inclusivity, and to opposing most actively any form of discrimination based on gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. The annual conference is designed to encourage full inclusivity, based on mutual respect, collegial and collaborative interactions, and friendship. As such, we are also dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone in attendance. As a group, we do not tolerate harassment of or by conference participants in any form. Conference participants violating these rules for harmonious, respectful interaction may be subject to sanctions or required to leave the conference, without a refund, at the discretion of the conference organizers. Our full anti-harassment policy can be found on the GMS website.

Accessibility

Many who work in academic settings live with disabilities and/or chronic conditions which mean that attending conferences can be a difficult issue. This can be the case for students, early career researchers, independent scholars, tenured academics and support staff, and all need support so that their conference experience is as good as it possibly can be. We have created guidelines for GMS conference organisers in line with advice offered by the Medievalists with Disabilities group that include:

• Full accessibility for all spaces used during the conference, including social spaces.
• Sufficient seating at all events, including social events and receptions.
• Clear and visible signposting for all toilet facilities, including those for disabled or non-gendered access.
• Provision of a quiet room in addition to other conference spaces.
• Use of inclusive language in all communications and conference spaces.
• Accessibility built into all conference trips and venues.