From The Blogs: Harassment At Comic-Con
A male fan expresses his frustration at a lack of Comic-Con guidelines protecting everyone's personal space and comfort.
Moved by "several instances of harassment, stalking or assault" he witnessed or heard about in San Diego during the last weekend of July, JOHN DIBELLO has posted an extended call to action regarding safety and security policies at comic conventions.
While attending Comic-Con, DiBello was regaled by female friends, who were working booths, with reports of being pestered for dates, criticized over artistic talent, and physically molested--while having it photographed. He even overheard one attendee admitting to such an affront:
"These were the Ghostbusters girls," narrated the unnamed male while reviewing digital photos with friends. "That one, I grabbed her ass, 'cause I wanted to see what her reaction was."
Convinced that "the first step to preventing such harassment is giving its victims the knowledge that they can safely and swiftly report such instances to someone in authority," DiBello scoured his convention book for any information related to that. He found "nothing about attendee-to-attendee personal behavior," and none of the convention employees--including security--had a definitive answer to the question: "What's Comic-Con's policy and method of dealing with complaints about harassment?" Since there's no written guidelines, he suggested, there's an unspoken allowance for further harassment and violence.
"This is not acceptable behavior under any circumstance, no matter what you look like or how you're dressed, whether you are in a Princess Leia slave girl outfit or business casual for running your booth," DiBello said, and finished his plea by stating: "As the leading event of the comics and pop culture world, Comic-Con should work to make everyone who attends feel comfortable and safe."
[Thanks to KALINARA at When Fangirls Attack!]