Respect Policy
City Bloc is dedicated to providing a harassment-free and inclusive experience for everyone regardless of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected characteristic. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. City Bloc takes violations of our policy seriously and will respond appropriately.
All centre users must abide by the following policy:
Be kind to each other. We want a visit to the Bloc to be an excellent experience for everyone regardless of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected category. Treat everyone with respect. Participate while acknowledging that everyone deserves to be here – and each of us has the right to enjoy our experience without fear of harassment, discrimination, or condescension, whether blatant or via micro-aggressions. Jokes shouldn’t demean others. Consider what you are saying and how it would feel if it were said to or about you.
Speak up if you see or hear something. Harassment is not tolerated, and you are empowered to politely engage when you or others are disrespected. The person making you feel uncomfortable may not be aware of what they are doing, and politely bringing their behaviour to their attention is encouraged. If a participant engages in harassing or uncomfortable behaviour, City Bloc staff may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning or expelling the offender from the centre with no refund. If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of staff immediately.
Harassment is not tolerated. Harassment includes, but is not limited to: verbal language that reinforces social structures of domination related to gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race, age, religion, or other protected category; sexual imagery in public spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; offensive verbal language; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.
This policy extends to talks, forums, social media groups, workshops, social media, parties, hallway conversations, all attendees, partners, sponsors, volunteers, staff, etc. You catch our drift. City Bloc reserves the right to refuse admittance to, or remove any person from, City Bloc Climbing Wall or any City Bloc hosted event (including future City Bloc events) at any time in its sole discretion. This includes, but is not limited to, attendees behaving in a disorderly manner or failing to comply with this policy, and the terms and conditions herein. If a participant engages in harassing or uncomfortable behaviour, City Bloc staff may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning or expelling the offender from the centre or event with no refund.
Our staff can usually be identified by City Bloc attire. We will look into and review every allegation of violation of our Respect Policy and respond appropriately. Please note, while we take all concerns raised seriously, we will use our discretion as to determining when and how to follow up on reported incidents, and may decline to take any further action and/or may direct the participant to other resources for resolution. Staff will be happy to help anyone experiencing discomfort or harassment by contacting law enforcement or provide an escort to feel safe for the duration of the visit at City Bloc or any City Bloc hosted event.
Why this policy is important:
This policy aims to make it clear that harassment of anyone for any reason is not acceptable within our centre or hosted events. This policy may prevent harassment by clearly defining expectations for behaviour, aims to provide reassurance, and encourages people who have had bad experiences at other events to participate in this one.