Harassment Committee for Awareness, Response and Equity (HCARE)

AAPA is committed to creating and promoting a culture in which every member of our community is treated with respect, and to fostering a safe environment free from harassment, intimidation, and retaliation. The purpose of the Harassment Committee for Awareness, Response and Equity (HCARE) is to assist the AAPA in establishing accountability measures and procedures for maintaining the highest standards of ethical, professional and inclusive conduct for attendees of our annual meeting, our members, and our academic community. For more information on HCARE or to report a complaint please read below.

The AAPA encourages any member of the AAPA with a complaint of harassment, bullying and/or assault to come forward. If you were harassed, bullied or assaulted by a member of our AAPA community, or if you witnessed harassment, bullying or assault by or to any member of our AAPA community, we want to hear from you, regardless of whether the incident occurred at an AAPA-sponsored event or elsewhere.

Reporting Procedures:

Any complaint of harassment, bullying or assault should be submitted through NAVEX, a secure on-line reporting system. Complaints may be made on a confidential or anonymous basis. If you file an anonymous complaint, this means your identity will not be known to HCARE or the AAPA. Click here to file a complaint through NAVEX

You will be asked to provide details of the incident(s), names of individuals involved and name(s) of any witnesses. Any complaint will be automatically assigned a report number and will be referred to the Harassment Committee for Awareness, Response and Equity (HCARE) for evaluation (excluding any Committee member who might be implicated in the complaint). This information will be viewed only by members of HCARE, and will be kept confidential by members of this committee.

You may also reach out directly to the HCARE via email: [email protected] with any complaint or concern regarding harassment, bullying or assault. Any email communication shall remain confidential and be communicated only to members of HCARE and the AAPA Executive Committee. However, your identity will not be anonymous unless the email is sent via an anonymized email account.

Review and Investigative Procedures:

• Once the committee receives a report via the avenues for reporting described above, HCARE will promptly and impartially assess any claim of inappropriate conduct or harassment at AAPA-sponsored, AAPA-run, or AAPA-affiliated events and/or any events involving AAPA members. HCARE will keep the reporting of individual’s concerns confidential and will not share any information from the report outside the committee membership until an assessment and recommendation is made, at which point information will be shared only with the AAPA Executive Committee.

• The HCARE committee will read and assess the information provided in the report for initial evaluation. The initial evaluation will address whether there is sufficient information in the report for the committee to effectively assess the incidents/events/complaints. If HCARE determines there is not enough information, the committee may seek out additional information, including from the initial reporter(s) (if not anonymous), but only with the approval and cooperation of the individual(s) making the report. Once sufficient information is available the committee will assess if the report meets the criteria identified by HCARE for committee action (evaluation and recommendations).

• Evaluation of a complaint will involve a full HCARE Committee review of the information and materials provided, followed by a subsequent committee meeting where each member will weigh in with their assessment and with any questions. At this stage, the Committee may again decide that more information is needed and may temporarily suspend the assessment as further information is collected (this may be via contact of the complainant (if not anonymous), via consultation with AAPA records or via publicly available information from institutions associated with the complaint. Once supplemental information is collected (if needed) or if the initial information was deemed sufficient, the committee will document the details of their assessment in a written report and make a recommendation (or recommendations) to be shared with the AAPA Executive Committee (excluding those who might be implicated in the complaint) within the shortest time frame possible.

• All HCARE members are committed to full confidentiality of all information pertaining to all parties involved in the complaint.

If disciplinary action is being considered, those who are implicated in the completed investigation will have an opportunity to appeal to the AAPA Executive Committee before a final disciplinary action is taken. All disciplinary decisions by the Executive Committee will be final.

A specific timeline for the investigation cannot be predicted in advance, as it may depend upon the nature of the allegations and the investigation process. Every effort will be made to complete investigation in a prompt and timely manner.

The AAPA reserves the right, upon receipt of a complaint, if at AAPA’s sole reasonable discretion, the nature of the complaint warrants the immediate removal of an individual from any AAPA-sponsored, AAPA-run or AAPA-affiliated event in order to ensure that the safety of the complainant and to ensure that the event may proceed safely and without undue interruption. In such circumstances removal of an individual can occur prior to undertaking an investigation as described herein.

Potential Actions and Consequences for Harassment and Bullying:

If the AAPA determines that a violation of the AAPA Code of conduct or the AAPA Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault has occurred, the AAPA may take any disciplinary action it deems appropriate, which may include, but is not limited to:

• Private reprimand;
• Removal from an AAPA-sponsored event without warning or refund;
• Being banned from participation in future AAPA-sponsored events or volunteer activities
• Being banned for consideration of any AAPA award or leadership position
• Termination of AAPA membership