The Ongoing Struggle to Prevent Harassment at Comic Cons

A convention earns more points for things like having a policy, displaying it  prominently (both on-site and online), defining harassment, explaining consequences for rule-breakers, letting guests know how to report harassment, and having separate protocol when convention organizers are  responsible for abuse.

As CCSN’s website states, “Of 241+conventions reviewed for the United States as of 12.22.2021, only 29 meet all the criteria: Anime Boston, Anime Crossroads, Anime CTX, Anime North Texas, Anime Weekend Atlanta, Arizona Game Fair, Aselia Con, Colorado Anime Fest, Con Nichiwa, CONvergence, Eville-Con, Fan X Salt Lake Comic Con, Hazardcon, Itty Bitty Fur Con, Kikoricon, KuroNekoCon, Long Island Doctor Who, LumiCon, Nan Desu Kan, Nomikai Dallas, Ohayocon, RamenCon, Sabakucon, Saboten Con, Shikkaricon, Snow Fest, Tekko, TokenCon, and WiscCon.” 

Emily Miles, the executive director of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, tells Allure that there are three main considerations when crafting effective policies for any large event. Organizes want to make sure their rules are easy to understand, accessible to all visitors, and enforceable. 

But, as Miles adds, “a policy is only as good as the structures set up around that policy.” A catchy slogan or laid-out terms and conditions page won’t deter abusers, but convention organizers should make it clear to all attendees that “the goal is for them to feel safe — and if you’re feeling unsafe, know that you can get assistance.”

The New York Comic Con anti-harassment policy,for example, takes up an entire landing page on the con’s website. In nine paragraphs, the rules are set, with “harassment” defined by behaviors like stalking, non-consensual photography, hate symbols, intimidation, and more. San Diego’s Comic-Con, meanwhile, is just one vague paragraph. “Attendees must respect commonsense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated,” it reads in part. 

“Common sense for who?” Miles asks rhetorically. “It’s better to have this than not have anything, but there lacks a specificity there that I think is really important, and it lacks a clear statement of what those who experience harassment should do other than them having to go and seek out assistance on their own.”

A zero-tolerance policy is great, Miles says, but only goes so far. Organizers should also consider what proactive, positive programming conventions can set up to make the space feel more inclusive, she says. “There are panels [at some Cons] about visibility for disability awareness and such, and I think that’s really important in creating an environment of inclusion,” she says. “The more you have people from diverse backgrounds who also feel like this is a space where not only they are safe, but they’re represented, then that space will actually be safe for them.”

Ultimately, Trickssi hopes survivors realize that they are not alone. “Cosplay is not consent did not help me, and I’m sure that it’s not helping other people,” Trickssi says. “There are things going on for survivors who are cosplayers that non-cosplaying survivors don’t understand. When you get catcalled or harassed in a costume of your favorite character, that’s a grief you can’t process. You have to find other people [who understand what it’s like] to get through that.”

While “cosplay is not consent” is a grammatically full sentence, Feytaline does not think it goes far enough. “The problem I’ve always has it it just ends there,” she says. “Cosplay is not consent — to what? I feel like it did a really good job getting the conversation started, but we still need to finish it.”

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