I didn't attend WFC this year. I've been in recovery mode for some time, and didn't feel up to the particular stress that is a major genre convention. It's generally a great convention -- we enjoy ourselves and make contacts, pitch anthologies, and generally make the trip worth our whiles. But this year, someone tried to tarnish the WFC experience in a big way.
The world of SF/Fantasy/Horror is not safe from sexual harassment. Why would it be? Well, back in Ye Olde Days, people actually dropped their ten to twelve-year-olds off at a convention and then picked them up at the end of the day. Or turned them loose with twenty bucks (which went a lot farther, of course) and told them to stay out of trouble. It was no paradise, but I don't remember ever seeing anyone so much as flustered. People on the prowl for sex tended to find others looking at the weekend the same way, and left the rest of us alone. The last time I had someone persistently after me, he finally took the hint and went away.
I don't think any parent I know would just drop their kids off today, unless they imposed the "buddy system" with a minimum of two running together. In fact, reading about the last few major conventions made me pretty sure I wasn't interested in getting into any of the sad crushes of parties. Seemed like people were always being groped.
I have a low tolerance for groping. In fact, my tolerance has gotten so low that I might have clocked the guy. No, drunk is not an excuse. Let him grope you, if you think it's an excuse.
This time, the attendees at a major convention (the World Fantasy Convention, in fact) started talking to one another. They reported the sleazeball, they rescued people needing help, and finally, a small group spearheaded by writer Jaym Gates reported said sleazeball to hotel security, who hauled his ass out the door. It took a lot of talking, explaining and pinning down of info to get this accomplished, but finally there was badge-stripping and escorting from the convention.
Even better, the dialog continues on-line. If you hop over to Jaym's blog (
http://jaymgates.com/misc/wfc-2011-creeper/) you'll see her take on the story, plus links to a bunch of the WFC reports. They're not talking about the panels, the contacts -- the reason we go to these conventions. They're talking about the constant specter of sexual harassment, how to pin down the stats about such behavior, and how to set up safeguards so that no attendee of a convention ever has to spend the weekend avoiding another convention member.
So take a look, hop into the discussion, and if you've helped set up safeguards elsewhere before, now's the time to speak up. It would be nice if conventions all over the country had a group or a guide to turn to, so that the response to sexual harassment is immediate and consistent.
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