Since this website went live last year we have listed details of the SIGCHI CARES program on the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment page under the section on for attendees.
The purpose of this blog post is to again highlight the SIGCHI CARES program as it extends beyond just attending the conference itself. The contact for SIGCHI CARES is sigchi-cares [at] acm [dot] org
SIGCHI CARES exists to serve as a resource for those who experience discrimination and/or harassment in violation of ACM’s policies governing SIG activities: policy against discrimination and harassment, policy on plagiarism, misrepresentation, and falsification; policy on coercion and abuse in the ACM publications process; and policy on oles and responsibilities in ACM publishing. CARES supports such individuals by allowing them to work with established members of the SIGCHI community, who are approachable and willing to listen and help navigate the SIGCHI and ACM reporting and accountability process. By its existence, CARES seeks to raise awareness of and deter discriminatory, harassing, or other unethical behavior and incidents related to SIG activities and publications.
It seeks to support those who have had such experiences directly, offering them an open and confidential conversation, with dual intent of:
- creating better awareness of discriminatory dynamics on the part of conference organizers; and
- increasing accountability of conference organizers, event staff, and conference attendees.
The goal of CARES is to empower all SIGCHI community members to speak up if we observe such behavior. Note that in certain cases of imminent danger, including threats of violence, suicide, harm to children, etc., CARES committee members are required to report to appropriate authorities.
For more details please see https://sigchi.org/resources/sigchi-cares/