Code of Conduct & Safer Space Policy

Horizons strives to maintain a professional atmosphere at its events, and invites the community to help us uphold professional standards of conduct.

We encourage everyone – board members, speakers, staff, and attendees – to be proactive in creating an atmosphere of safety and non-discrimination. 

By attending Horizons as an attendee, board member, staff, speaker, contractor, vendor, or volunteer, you are agreeing to abide by this code of conduct; you are recognizing that behavior that violates this code of conduct will render you subject to expulsion, termination of contract, or other consequences pertaining to your involvement with the conference; you are acknowledging that your involvement with Horizons is subject to the discretion of the organizers; and you are waiving all civil actions pertaining to such consequences.

We do not tolerate behavior that is unsafe, abusive, or discriminatory, including but not limited to:

• Making disrespectful or prejudiced remarks, particularly with regard to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, ethnicity or national origin, physical appearance, physical ability, or mental competence. We understand disrespect and prejudice to be functions of the impact experienced by the person at whom the remarks are directed, rather than of the intent of the speaker.
• Unwanted sexual or romantic attention
• Unwanted physical, verbal, or digital contact, including intimidation, coercion, threats, stalking, or following
• Photography, videography, or recording focused on an individual without their consent and clear expectations as to how such captured media will be used
• Deliberate disruption of conference proceedings and related activities
• Display of sexual or discriminatory imagery
• Leveraging positions of power for sexual or discriminatory purposes, which includes the behavior of board members, staff, speakers, volunteers, and leaders of affiliate organizations
• For licensed professionals, any behavior that is a violation the ethical obligations of their profession, including all attorneys, mediators, medical doctors, clinicians, therapists, and counselors
• Advocating for, encouraging, or condoning any of the above behavior

We will take action to maintain a professional and safe environment at Horizons events.

This may include working to reduce the impact of unacceptable behavior that occurs outside of our events, particularly at similar or affiliated community events.

Reporting

We encourage all community members to report unacceptable behavior, and take these reports seriously. We collect, store, and evaluate reports in collaboration with a professional neutral mediator who is also a NYS-licensed attorney.

If anyone has unacceptable behavior on the part of any Horizons board member, staff, speaker, or attendee to report, they may do so via our neutral mediator and community ethics advocate, Andy Izenson, of Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC.

Mr. Izenson can be reached at andy@dianaadamslaw.net, or anonymously at NYC Psychedelics Community Information Gathering.

Reports may remain confidential in part or whole, and Mr. Izenson will not share details with the Horizons organization unless requested by the reporting person.

We encourage any reporting party who wishes to seek support around concerns that may involve civil or criminal liability for Horizons, any person affiliated with Horizons, or the subject of the complaint, to assist our team in providing the best support possible, while also protecting our conference and community, by providing contact information through the channels available. The agency, safety and confidentiality of reporting parties is a top priority for our team.

We will announce additional procedures for reporting unacceptable behavior at the conference itself well prior to the event dates.

Responses & Enforcement

We evaluate and respond to reports and make decisions about how best to maintain a safe and inclusive environment in consultation with Mr. Izenson, a professional, neutral mediator and community ethics advocate who is also a NYS-licensed attorney.

We may take a variety of actions in service of our goals of safety and non-discrimination. These might include written or verbal warnings, declining entry, expulsion from the conference (without refund), or immediate termination of status as a board member, staff, speaker, contractor, vendor, or volunteer.

Where the person reporting a concern provides specific details or contact information, or expresses desire to participate in Horizons’ response, whether by providing input, through a mediated or restorative process, or in any other way, our response will be guided by their safety, needs, and input to the extent possible, practicable, and requested. Where a report is made anonymously and/or without expressed desire to participate further, we will utilize our best judgment and discretion, with the input of our community ethics advocate.



When appropriate, we will try to resolve conflicts in the community via mediation and to discourage cycles of escalation and public feuding.

We will announce additional information about responding to reports and enforcement actions at the conference itself well prior to the event dates.