Report on Complaints Regarding Violations of the Policy Against Harassment at ACM Activities

Aggregate Data on Policy Against Harassment Complaints and Disposition

The Policy Against Harassment at ACM Activities was approved in 2018, its associated procedures for enforcement were established in 2019, and the online system for filing and documenting complaints followed once these procedures were in place. Given that, Table H1 reports aggregate data that summarizes harassment complaints submitted to ACM and their disposition since 2020¹. Specifically, every row reports on the complaints received in the specified year and the decisions made for them in the same or subsequent years. 

Occasionally, multiple complaints were filed related to the same case, e.g., multiple instances of individuals experiencing harassment from the same respondent or multiple individuals witnessing one instance of harassment from the respondent. For the investigation, such instances of multiple reports were treated as one case, investigated as a whole, and reported as one complaint in Table H1. 

For several reasons, some complaints were not investigated: (a) the complainant reported anonymously; (b) the complainant specifically asked that the case not be investigated; (c) the complaint was determined to be spurious; (d) the complaint was referred, as appropriate, for handling under the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct or Publication Policies, or other ACM subunit, or (e) the complaint was not covered by any ACM Policy. Therefore, Table H1 reports the number of complaints investigated as well as those not investigated for each year. The resolution of the investigated complaints reports a Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) decision that either the complaint was supported with sanctions assigned or that the complaint was not supported. 

ACM is committed to addressing complaints promptly yet with due care. Table H1 thus reports on the months to resolution for complaint resolution. This time to resolution is the total of all stages of complaint consideration until final resolution, including investigation, the investigation completed with the complaint disposition under consideration by COPE, and appeal of the sanction when applicable. 

Table H1. Summary of Harassment Policy Complaints. 

Year	New Complaints	New Complaints Not Investigated	Complaints Investigated
			New	Previously Unresolved	Resolved Supported	Resolved Unsupported	Months to Resolution
2023	14	10	4	4	4	2	1 – 9
2022	17	12	5	2	2	1	4 – 13
2021	19	17	2	3	2	1	3 – 14
2020	15	11	4		0	1	13
Totals	65	50	15	*	8	5

* 2 complaints remained unresolved as of 31 December 2023.

Examples of Policy Against Harassment Violations and Resulting Sanctions (short abstract narratives)

To help the community better understand the types of behaviors that violate the Policy Against Harassment at ACM Activities, Table H2 provides some high-level examples of reported behaviors that violate the policy and have resulted in sanctions being imposed on those who engaged in these behaviors. These examples are not identified by year and are representative of actual violations and their sanctions since 2020.

Table H2. Policy Against Harassment Violation Exemplars. 

Cases of Harassment Policy Violations	Sanctions
During an ACM conference presentation, the respondent made a discriminatory religious comment that offended the complainant.	The respondent was required to apologize to the complainant and demonstrate an understanding of why the remark was discriminatory.
After drinks at an ACM conference event, a senior scholar flirted with some women in attendance.	The respondent was required to take an approved course to learn how to create work environments that better support women and other people who are marginalized in computing
During and after an ACM conference, a senior scholar initiated and continued to engage in unwanted conversations with another conference attendee.	The respondent was not allowed to attend any in-person ACM event for one year AND until ACM receives confirmation of successful completion of an approved course on harassment.
At an ACM-sponsored conference networking event, a senior scholar engaged in unwanted and uninvited contacts with multiple complainants.	The respondent was not allowed to attend any ACM event (in-person or virtual) for at least three years. After three years, the respondent must make an appeal to the CEO and ACM COPE who will determine whether the respondent demonstrates evidence of understanding the issues raised in the complaint.
Multiple complainants reported similar incidents where a senior scholar was intoxicated at an ACM-sponsored conference social events and engaged in predatory behaviors.	The respondent was banned from participating in any ACM or SIG activity either in-person or remotely for five years and until ACM receives confirmation of successful completion of an approved course on harassment. These banned activities include holding an elected, appointed, or other volunteer position in ACM.

¹ Informed by recommendations of the AAAS Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM.

 

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