[NCUC-DISCUSS] CIS' Statement on Sexual Harassment at ICANN55

[Sunil Abraham]

The Centre for Internet and Society

Statement on Sexual Harassment at ICANN55

The Centre for Internet and Society (“CIS”) strongly condemns the acts of
sexual harassment that took place against one of our representatives, Ms.
Padmini Baruah, during ICANN 55 in Marrakech. It is completely unacceptable
that an event the scale of an ICANN meeting does not have in place a formal
redressal system, a neutral point of contact or even a policy for
complainants who have been put through the ordeal of sexual harassment.
ICANN cannot claim to be inclusive or diverse if it does not formally
recognise a specific procedure or recourse under such instances.

Ms. Baruah is by no means the first young woman to be subject to such
treatment at an ICANN event, but she is the first to raise a formal
complaint. Following the incident, she was given no immediate remedy or
formal recourse, and that has left her with no option but to make the
incident publicly known in the interim. The ombudsman’s office has been in
touch with her, but this administrative process is simply inadequate for
rights-violations.


Ms. Baruah has received support from various community, staff, and board
members. While we are thankful for their support, we believe that this
situation can be better dealt with through some positive measures. We ask
that ICANN carry out the following steps in order to make its meetings a truly
safe and inclusive space:


   1.

   Institute a formal redressal system and policy with regard to sexual
   harassment within ICANN. The policy must be displayed on the ICANN website,
   at the venue of meetings and made available in delegate kits.
   2.

   Institute an Anti Sexual Harassment Committee that is neutral and
   approachable. Merely having an ombudsman who is a white male, however well
   intentioned, is inadequate and completely unhelpful to the complainant. The
   present situation is one where the ombudsman has no effective power and
   only advises the board.
   3.

   Conduct periodic gender and sexual harassment training of the ICANN
   board to help them better understand these issues.
   4.

   Conduct periodic gender and sexual harassment training for the ombudsman
   even if he/she will not be the exclusive point of contact for complainants
   as the ombudsman forms an important part of community and participant
   engagement.
   5.

   Conduct periodic gender sensitisation for the ICANN community.
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