European Physical Society
Code of Conduct for the EPS - sponsored Conferences
The European Physical Society (EPS) is committed to promoting the advancement of physics, in Europe and allover the World, by all suitable means, including through the organization of international meetings andconferences.
It is the policy of the EPS that all participants, including attendees, speakers, exhibitors, award recipients,volunteers, staff, contractors and all other stakeholders at EPS meetings will conduct themselves in a
professional manner contributing to the advancement of science. Creating a constructive environment to enable
respectful exchanges is the responsibility of all participants, which excludes any form of discrimination,harassment or retaliation.
Participants will avoid any inappropriate actions or statements based on characteristics such as age, race,ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, nationality, political affiliation, abilitystatus, educational background or any other characteristics protected by anti-discrimination law. Unprofessionalor harassing behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated. Unprofessional behaviour includes inappropriate
behaviour during the conference sessions as well as outside the session rooms on the conference site. Harassment
includes inappropriate or intimidating behaviour and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted
touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Victims will be given the possibility of reporting all cases in a safe and protected way. They are encouraged toreport cases urgently.
How to report an incident?
If you experience or witness bullying, discrimination, or harassment, you are encouraged to immediately informthe individual that his/her comments and/or behaviour are unwelcome. However, direct confrontation with aperson engaged in offensive behavior may not be possible or advisable in every situation. In this case you shouldreport the incident.
If you wish to report, please, do so through the following methods:
1. contact any EPS staff member or, if any, the contact person of the local organization committee in charge ofmonitoring the application of the Code of Conduct on the conference site
2. use the online portal CodeOfConduct@eps.org
You are also invited to write down as many relevant details as you can recall (e.g., names, dates, times,locations, behaviour or statements made, etc.), which can be helpful in assisting any future investigation of theincident.
To ensure a fair and complete investigation, EPS cannot accept anonymous reports. However, EPS will preserve
confidentiality of the author’s report, except where doing so would compromise another person’s rights or impair
a thorough investigation.
Upon receiving a report of misconduct, the EPS will mandate a prompt investigation by competent mediators.
This may include speaking with the reporting individual and/or alleged victim, and/or (provided their consent)
speaking to potential witnesses and the alleged offender. EPS may seek other legal or professional advice prior
to any follow-up action. Sanctions may range from verbal warning, ejection from the meeting without refund, tonotifying appropriate authorities.
The present Code of Conduct will be made public to all participants of EPS-Sponsored conferences and events.
European Physical Society, June 2020