Dear all,
The board and advisory committee of IASPM D-A-CH issues the following statement in response to the recent incidents regarding sexualized violence:
Self-commitment of IASPM D-A-CH regarding sexualized violence at and around our gatherings
We stand in solidarity with those who experienced sexualized violence.
We take reports of sexualized violence extremely seriously.
We are committed to transparency and accountability in our organization.
We are aware that academic gatherings are hierarchical spaces interspersed with power relations, and structured by dependencies and aspirations.
We agree that the deletion of the Facebook post accusing IASPM members of sexual assault was wrong and has contributed (even if unintentionally) to silencing the victim position. Due to the deletion of the original post and the attached comments, many of us could not reconstruct the accusations. We thank those colleagues who allowed us to reconstruct the situation via screenshots. We also criticize that the International Board of IASPM did not provide its members with an anonymized description of the incidents in replacement of the deleted post. In our opinion, this has contributed to the cover-up of the incidents, which we consider unacceptable. Furthermore, this procedure lost sight of what should be at the center, namely the discussion about the described incidents at IASPM conferences, which reveal that these spaces are not equally safe for everyone. However, we welcome the fact that the International Board is consulting an expert who will investigate the case and contribute to clarification. The results will hopefully put us in the position to make adequate decisions and find reasonable solutions for the future regarding this particular and other related issues.
With this in mind, we are committed to creating safer spaces during our gatherings. Concerning the annual conference of IASPM-D-A-CH, held on October 20.-22. 2022 together with the Gesellschaft für Popularmusikforschung (GfPM) in Vienna, we are committed to making this and other future events safer places. We are working on concrete strategies. Specific measures for the joint conference of GfPM and IASPM D-A-CH include:
We will draft and implement a Code of Conduct for the conference, which will remain in place for future events and conferences.
A dedicated contact person or contact team will be available to report sexualized violence and assist with the next steps.
We will shortly conduct a poll among our members on how they imagine a safer space, and we will implement the results of this poll in Vienna and at future conferences.
On a general note, all board and advisory committee members will work on creating awareness concerning adequate responses, behaviors, and language for moments when cases of sexualized violence surface. We will keep educating ourselves and stay open to feedback and further conversations.
We will further reserve the right to exclude members, temporarily or permanently, from IASPM D-A-CH in connection with allegations of sexualized violence.
Aware of the fact that there are very likely to be unreported cases of sexualized violence, we would further like to point to the following support centers for the D-A-CH region:
Germany: https://www.hilfetelefon.de,
Austria: http://www.frauenhelpline.at,
Switzerland: https://www.opferhilfe-schweiz.ch/
The board and advisory committee of IASPM D-A-CH (May 2022)