Incident Response Plan for Organizers

Topics

We are currently updating the names of our contributor roles throughout our resources. The new role names are Community Team Event SupporterEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. (formerly MentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues.), Community Team Program SupporterProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. (formerly DeputyProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook.), and Program ManagerProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule. (formerly Super DeputyProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule.).

The following Incident Response Plan Template can be used by WordPress event organizing teams to prepare for responding to on-site incident reports.

All WordPress community participants – including WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. and meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizers, volunteers, speakers, and sponsors – are expected to to follow the WordPress Community Code of Conduct.

Check out the online WordPress Incident Response Team training: https://learn.wordpress.org/course/incident-response-team-training/

As anyone can submit an incident report when they see something happen, this training is for any WordPress community member who would like to be prepared to help their fellow community members in submitting an incident report. This training, especially the workshop on taking incident reports, will be particularly helpful for WordCamp organizers who want to know what to do in case of a Code of ConductCode of Conduct “A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party.” - Wikipedia violation.

We strongly recommend that all members of your WordCamp’s First Response Group and Backup Response Group (described below) complete the online Incident Response Team training.

Incident Response Plan Template

Situations you might respond to:

  • Verbal altercation
  • Medical emergency
  • Physical altercation
  • Threats to physical safety
  • Intimidation and harassment
  • Acts of nature

First Response Group (prepared to take reports and handle issues on site, these people are your safety team)

  • Name
  • Name

Backup Response Group (organizers with on-site commitments, but who can be available as needed)

  • Name
  • Name

Contact List

  • Telephone numbers or other

Information to provide to volunteers so they can report issues:

  • Clear direction on how & where to contact organizers

Information to provide to venue:

  • Ways to reach organizers/safety team

Information to provide to public:

  • Instructions on how to find volunteers to go on website:
    • If you are experiencing an emergency, please prioritize your safety! If you are uncomfortable and/or need assistance in any way, please find a volunteer and ask them for help. We are the helpful people in (IDENTIFYING MARKS/CLOTHES) that say “Volunteer” or “Organizer” on the back. 
  • Evacuation routes (post on day of website)

Top ↑

Process for responding to a medical emergency or violence

If there is an incident where there is a clear and present danger, take the following steps: 

  1. Ensure your personal safety.
  2. Call the venue’s emergency line or the local emergency services (ambulance, police) for help.
  3. Ensure all parties are safe and have access to medical services if needed.
  4. If possible, collect the name(s) and contact info for anyone receiving emergency medical services at the event.
  5. Follow up by sharing with the WordPress Global Community TeamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps.’s incident response squad by emailing reports@wordpress.org or filling out the incident report.

Top ↑

Process for responding to incident reports

If you need to take a report about an incident that may violate the code of conduct, remember to maintain confidentiality at all times.

  1. Inform people on the organizing team that someone has reported a problem, while protecting the reporter’s confidentiality. 
  2. To take a report, find a quiet place and if possible, ask another organizer to join you. If you have any potential conflict of interest in taking the report (such as if any person involved in the report works at the same company as you), ask another member of the safety team to do so for you. 
  3. Ask if the person would like to make a formal code of conduct report. Do not make any promises as to how reports will be handled, but let them know that the safety team will make every effort to protect the reporter’s confidentiality and safety.
  4. If they do not want to make a formal report, you can ask if they would like to make the report anonymous. If they still do not want to make a formal report, the best you can do is to help them feel safe and heard while at the event.
  5. If they are making the report, ask them to describe the incident. Items that would be helpful include:
    • Identifying information for any alleged harasser(s)/witnesses/people involved
    • Reporter’s name and contact information so that we can follow up
    • Time and date of incident + time and date of the report
    • Place of incident
    • Summary of incident
    • Names of other people involved
  6. Depending on the severity of the report, you may need to notify emergency services. Make sure to note this in the report.
  7. After you have gathered information, thank the reporter.
    • If appropriate, you can ask if there is anything else you can do to help make them feel safe (for example, finding a friend of theirs to stay with them, or giving them a private space to sit in). 
    • Let them know that you will be sharing the report with the incident response team, and that we will follow up after reviewing. 
    • If they are making the report anonymously, you can reassure them that we will do everything we can to make sure their name is anonymous. 
  8. Follow up by sharing with the WordPress Global Community Team’s Incident Response Team by emailing reports@wordpress.org or filling out the incident report, especially if confidentiality is required.

Last updated: