Code of Conduct
Whether it be development or foreign policy, charity jobs or consulting, we want to see women represented across all sectors in the international affairs industry – irrespective of their experience or background – are given fair and equal access to opportunities and training throughout their career journey.
For this purpose, we are building the most supportive and powerful international career network for women to connect, collaborate and develop in their careers. Our digital forums provide safe, authentic spaces for women to discuss career pathways, share struggles, and positively impact one another by demystifying international affairs. Every individual joining our online community acknowledges and accepts that they will conduct themselves appropriately at all times. These guidelines set out our acceptable use policy, and clarifies what we do and do not allow on WIAN’s platforms. We welcome free speech and embrace a diversity of ideas, and our team is dedicated to maintaining a safe community free from offensive, disturbing and divisive content.
By signing up to join as a member of The Women in International Affairs Network (WIAN) C.I.C., also known as ('We'), ('The Network'), (‘Forum’), and (‘Platform’), you hereby agree to abide by the following code of conduct. As a member, should you come across a profile, post, comment, message or DM that seems to break or violate the rules and policies that govern this website, please report it to us via our Reports and Complaints Form, or email our Community Engagement team at communitycare@wianetwork.com.
Please use the reporting tools responsibly and only for their intended purposes. To learn more about how to report inappropriate content, behaviour, or members, visit our Safety Center. All reports will be investigated to protect privacy, and details of the reporter will be kept anonymous unless express consent is given. Repeated violations of these standards may result in a member being barred from entry or participation in the community forums.
As WIAN grows, these guidelines are likely to change over time, and will be routinely reviewed to ensure they remain accurate. While every effort is made to ensure that the content posted on our online and social channels is current and accurate, we accept no liability for the accuracy, completeness or currency of that information and disclaim all liability to any person in relation to, or, in the use of, the information or data. Comments and posts made by members of our online communities are the views of those individuals only and do not reflect the views or opinions of WIAN.
INTERACTIONS (GROUP DISCUSSIONS)
Health & Wellness does not have custom guidelines. All groups, communities and discussions operate under WIAN's Community Participation Policy, and Legal and Corporate policies.
Groups may have custom guidelines, which are also subject to WIAN's Community Participation Policy, and Legal and Corporate policies.
Do not promote a product or service or solicit guests in any way.
Avoid disparaging a member, guest or their company.
Our Editorial team may remove a contribution if we find that it violates these guidelines. This is especially true for anonymously posted comments.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Treat all users and members fairly and equally. Stimulate conversation, be respectful of others’ views, and refrain from personal attacks.
Respect legitimate intellectual property rights, do not plagiarise work, and give credit to the originators of ideas.
Do not share the posts, comments, or views of other members without their express permission.
Do not post any personal information about a third party without that person's explicit consent.
Any accounts that wrongly impersonate any person or organisation will be removed.
Please treat the information on member profiles with respect; do not mine member information (manually or with scripts and other AI tools), and do not send promotional materials to members.
No articles, news reports, or other copyrighted material may be posted without the permission of the Network and the relevant copyright owners.
Participation in, encouragement, or suggestion of any illegal behaviour is cause for immediate deletion and suspension of posting privileges and may be reported to the appropriate authorities.
We remove harmful advice, content that targets individuals or protected groups, and content created as part of disinformation campaigns.
We don’t allow defamatory, libellous, indecent, obscene, pornographic, offensive, profane, discriminatory, misleading, harassing, unlawful or threatening comments. Personal attacks, name-calling, trolling and abuse will not be tolerated.
You shall not post on these forums any content which contains viruses or other contaminating or destructive features.
You must not post any content which violates the rights of others, such as content which infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or violates any right of privacy or publicity, or otherwise violates any applicable law.
We moderate promotional conversations more strictly that have a political and/or social agenda about people in protected classes. Our team reviews content that meets this criteria on a case-by-case basis. If we determine that a post is primarily promoting an agenda rather than contributing to constructive dialogue among members, the post will be removed.
We have a zero tolerance policy for hateful conduct. WIAN does not tolerate harassing, threatening, racist, abusive, hateful, violent, vulgar, or obscene language or behaviour. Any unacceptable or unlawful content (including but not limited to posts, user names, or subject lines and matter) will be deleted.
Your account will immediately be suspended if you promote violence, or attack or threaten others on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age or disability. This policy extends to all content and conduct on WIAN’s platforms, including posts, comments, direct messages, usernames and profiles.
Discriminatory, hostile or intimidating messages or language will not be tolerated, whether based on a person’s race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, social or economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical ability.
WIAN is not intended for commercial solicitation, advertising, self-promotion or personal brand building. It is ok to contribute or refer to articles you've written or work you have done, so long as your primary goal is to be helpful to others and add value to the community. Promotional posts will be removed by our team, however, in an effort to ensure the Network has access to relevant development opportunities, individuals can get in touch with WIAN at communitycare@wianetwork.com to offer career services through our official platform.
By signing up to this platform, you agree that your name will appear on our member directory. This option can be changed at any time in your privacy settings.
All posted content may be used by the Network in any and all media, including (but not limited to) Websites, magazines, and books. Please refer to our Legal and Corporate policies for more information.
We reserve the right to delete comments at our discretion and block any repeat offenders. We will remove content that is fraudulent, deceptive or misleading. We always have the right to remove you from WIAN’s digital community for not following these guidelines, or any other reason deemed divisive or disruptive to the safe use of this platform by our community.
EXPECTED ETIQUETTE
Everything said on and within WIAN’s digital platform, particularly within community group spaces should be treated as off the record. Do not share any conversations from WIAN’s community space with anyone outside who is not a member.
Be respectful and civil to other network members, even if you disagree with them. Our general rule of thumb is only talk to people within WIAN’s community space the way you would talk to them in real life.
Respect that other people in the community have had different life experiences and may have a different perspective to yours. We welcome different viewpoints.
Be mindful and respectful of linguistic background – while the language for online fora discussions is mostly English (unless otherwise specified), remember not everybody is a native English speaker / writer.
WIAN forums are for public discussion. Other than general information such as city, or country, please do not post personal or any other identifying information such as your home address, email address, or telephone number, etc. Don’t post personal information that you would not be comfortable sharing with a stranger.
Everything said over DM is off the record. Don't share messages with anyone outside of the platform. If harmful or offensive, please share directly with WIAN’s community team, who will work with all parties involved to resolve the issue.
Choose with care what you write when directly messaging members. Keep your messages personal, concise, and specific - and make it easy for others to reply. Remember people are busy, and meeting in person for coffee, or having phone conversations might not be feasible for everyone.
If you’re copy-pasting the same message or direct message (DM) to multiple people, you’re likely violating these guidelines. Do not spam or flood members, the platform or WIAN as an organisation irrelevant or relevant content, subject matter and third-party websites – whether through our forums, website, social media or otherwise. We don't allow untargeted, irrelevant, obviously unwanted, unauthorised, inappropriate commercial or promotional, gratuitously repetitive messages or similar content.
Do not use the follow or messaging features of our platform to send promotional messages to people you don't know or to otherwise spam people.
Do not message members directly about job opportunities within their organisation, unless express permission from said individual is granted.
If you’re asking for advice, consider who has experience or opinions on the matter, and how busy the person is before you send a message. Choose one person to message for advice at a time.
Please keep in mind that other users may claim expert status (legal, medical, etc.) that they may not, in fact, possess. We encourage you to use discretion in following any advice offered through our forums.
Avoid self-promotion or promotion of your product or service directly via DM’s, unless expressly requested.
Use caution when discussing products and intellectual property. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all members to see. Comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
Do not post harassing content. We don’t allow bullying or harassment. This includes targeted personal attacks, intimidation, shaming, disparaging remarks, and abusive language directed at other members.
Do not reveal others' personal or sensitive information (aka "doxing"), or incite others to do the same. You may not engage in trolling or other repetitive negative content that disrupts other members or conversations on the platform.
Please do not misuse the “report abuse” functions provided on this platform – be fair and use it only when necessary. If you unjustly make extra work for our team by flagging legitimate content, we may remove your permissions and/or ban you from further use of the platform.
Do not threaten, incite, or promote violence of any kind. We don’t allow individuals or groups that engage in or promote violence, property damage, or organised criminal activity. You may not use WIAN or its platforms to express support for such individuals, groups or to otherwise glorify violence.
Do not share content promoting dangerous organisations or individuals. We don't allow any terrorist organisations or violent extremist groups on our platform.
We don't allow any individuals who affiliate with such organisations or groups to have or maintain a WIAN profile. Content that depicts terrorist activity, that is intended to recruit for terrorist organisations, or that threatens, promotes, or supports terrorism in any manner is not tolerated.
Do not share material depicting the exploitation of children and minors. We have zero tolerance for content that depicts the sexual and physical exploitation of children. Do not share, post, transmit, or solicit child exploitation material through or using our platform. Do not use WIAN in any way to facilitate, encourage, or engage in the abuse or exploitation of children. When we become aware of apparent child exploitation, we will report it to the relevant authorities.
Do not promote, sell or attempt to purchase illegal or dangerous goods or services. We don't allow content that facilitates the purchase of illegal or dangerous goods and/or services, prostitution, and escort services. We don't allow content that promotes or distributes fake educational and/or professional certifications, sale of scraped data, proxy test-taking, or instructions on creating forged official documents.
You may not use WIAN to hold lotteries, contests, sweepstakes, or giveaways. Do not use WIAN to sensationalise or capitalise on tragic events for commercial purposes.
Do not be hateful when engaging on this platform. We don't allow content that attacks, denigrates, intimidates, dehumanises, incites or threatens hatred, violence, prejudicial or discriminatory action against individuals or groups because of their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, or disability status.
Hate groups are not permitted on WIAN. Do not use racial, religious, or other slurs that incite or promote hatred, or any other content intended to create division.
Do not post or share content that denies a well-documented historical event such as the Holocaust or slavery in the United States.
Do not engage in sexual innuendos or unwanted advances. We don't allow unwanted expressions of attraction, desire, requests for romantic relationship, marriage proposals, sexual advances or innuendo, or lewd remarks.
WIAN is a professional networking platform, not a dating site. Do not use WIAN to pursue romantic connections, ask for romantic dates, or provide sexual commentary on someone's appearance or perceived attractiveness. Do not send unwanted advances in messages, posts, or comments or send sexually explicit images to anyone on the platform.
Do not share harmful or shocking material. We don't allow content that is excessively gruesome or shocking. This includes content that is sadistic or gratuitously graphic, such as the depiction of bodily injury, severe physical or sexual violence. We don't allow content, activities, or events that promote, organise, depict, or facilitate criminal activity. We also don't allow content depicting or promoting instructional weapon making, drug abuse, and threats of theft.
Do not engage in or promote escort services, prostitution, exploitation of children, or human trafficking. Do not share content or activities that promote or encourage suicide or any type of self-injury, including self-mutilation and eating disorders, nudity or sexual activity. If you see signs that someone may be considering or engaging in self-harm or other dangerous activities, please report it using our reporting tools and consider also reporting it to your local law enforcement authorities.
Do not share content in a way that you know is, or think may be, misleading or inaccurate, including misinformation or disinformation.
Do not share content to interfere with or improperly influence an election or other civic process. We may prevent you from posting content from sites that are known to produce or contain misinformation.
Do not share content that directly contradicts guidance from leading global health organisations and public health authorities; including false information about the safety or efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
Do not share false content or information, including news stories, as though they are true or likely true.
Do not post “deepfake” images or videos of others or otherwise post content that has been manipulated to deceive.
Do not share content or endorse someone or something in exchange for personal benefit (including personal or family relationships, monetary payment, free products or services, or other value), unless you have included a clear and conspicuous notice of the personal benefit you receive and have otherwise complied with our Legal and Corporate Policies.
Last updated:
28 May 2023