Community Agreement

While we aim to create a safer space at Yellowknife Pride events, we ultimately cannot anticipate the behaviour of every person who attends. However, all Attendees, volunteers, Event Runners, artists, vendors and more are expected to be actively participating in helping to make Yellowknife Pride events a safer space. As a community, we agree that every person present at Yellowknife Pride event has a Festival experience free from:

• Physical, sexual, and emotional violence;

• harassment;

• unsolicited physical contact;

• non-consensual sexual attention, touch, and objectification;

• hatefulness and hate speech;

• shaming;

• bullying;

• deliberate intimidation and;

• stalking or unwanted following.

*Definitions are at the end of this document.

Community Guidelines

Consent

• Share your pronouns with someone before asking them to share theirs;

• Respect people, their bodies, beliefs, possessions, and space;

• Yellowknife Pride has a zero-tolerance policy towards explicit harassment and assault of any nature and;

• Consent is active, conscientious, voluntary, verbal, and ongoing, and is not restricted to sexual contact.

Don’t Be A Bystander

• If you witness a person acting in a way that appears threatening, violent, or aggressive, speak up!

• Do not tolerate sexual, verbal, or physically harassing behaviour from your friends in any situation and;

• Check in with fellow Festival Attendees who may appear to be in a threatening situation.

Help And Ask For Help

• Volunteers are in dark grey shirts with white lettering on the back reading “VOLUNTEER”;

• Members of the planning committee and Event Runners will also be identifiable so that you know who you can approach for help; and

• If you see someone or are with someone who needs help, accompany them to a volunteer if possible.

Inclusivity at Pride

• Pride first and foremost, is for 2SLGBTQIPA+ people. It’s a celebration of our lived identities, a protest to continue advancing the rights for our community, and a time where we can be immersed in the vibrancy of our community;

• Allies, people who are questioning their identity, people who want to learn more about the 2SLGBTQIPA+ community, and Northerners as a whole are welcome to join our celebrations;

• Respect people’s names and pronouns - at Pride, we believe people when they tell us who they are, whether they fit our idea of gender or not;

• The gender of your partner doesn’t invalidate your identity, and we know 2SLGBTQIPA+ people experience erasure; and

• You do not have to be “out” of the closet to come to Pride - coming out can be seen as a privilege and if you are safest attending not out, that’s absolutely okay, you’re still part of our community, and we would love to have you!

Any event Attendee reasonably determined by an Event Runner to be in violation of the Yellowknife Pride Community Agreements and/or any Canadian laws will be immediately removed from the event and prevented from attending remaining events for the duration of the Festival. 

Yellowknife Pride commits to communicating this document to Attendees of all events throughout the Festival, and doing everything within our ability to help hold all Attendees accountable to the community of the Yellowknife Pride Festival. 

Artists

• If you witness violent, aggressive, or oppressive behaviour from the stage, call it out or alert a Yellowknife Pride volunteer or Event Runner immediately; 

• If you witness incidents that transgress the Community Guidelines taking place at after parties or anywhere within the Festival grounds, alert a Yellowknife Pride volunteer or Event Runner immediately and;

• Look out for other artists, volunteers, and Event Runners throughout the weekend.

Audience 

• Maintain respectful and safe boundaries on dance floors and in crowded areas;

• Be aware of the signs of distress, and alert a volunteer or Event Runner if somebody needs help; 

• Be respectful of artists, drag queens, and other talent that are on stage or in the venue - ask for consent to engage;

• Check in with your fellow Festival Attendees to make sure that everybody is having a fun and safe Festival; and

• If you see somebody acting in a way that makes you or somebody else uncomfortable or unsafe, speak up! 

Event Runners and Volunteers 

• Respond to all allegations of assault and harassment immediately and in support of the victim; 

• Access all necessary resources to provide the support needed to the situation and people involved;

• Identify ways to make the Festival a safer and more accessible space for all people and;

• If you’re unsure of how to handle a situation, contact your direct supervisor immediately. It is OK to ask for help.

Definitions

Assault means the act of inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or putting another person in apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.

Consent means the voluntary, conscientious, freely given, active, and specific agreement to engage in any type of contact or activity

Discrimination means to deny any person any goods, services, accommodation or facilities, or to treat any person or class of persons in a demeaning or belittling way

An Attendee is any person attending Yellowknife Pride Festival in any capacity. 

Freedom means that every Attendee is free to enjoy the Festival without experiencing any of the following:

• Physical and sexual violence;

• Physical and emotional abuse;

• assault;

• harassment;

• unsolicited physical contact;

• non-consensual sexual attention;

• non-consensual objectification;

• non-consensual touching or flirtation;

• hatefulness;

• shaming;

• bullying;

• deliberate intimidation;

• stalking; and

• following.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Written or verbal abuse, threats, or outbursts;

• The display of visual material which is offensive to any persons;

• Unwelcome remarks, jokes, comments, innuendo, or taunts;

• Leering or other suggestive or obscene gestures;

• Condescending or patronizing behaviour which is intended to undermine self-esteem, diminish performance or adversely affect conditions of participation;

• Practical jokes which cause awkwardness or embarrassment, endanger a person’s safety, or negatively affect performance;

• Any form of hazing;

• Retaliation or threats of retaliation against an individual who reports harassment;

• Bullying;

• Offensive or intimidating phone calls, texts, voice mails or emails;

• Displaying or circulating offensive pictures, photographs or materials in printed or electronic form;

• Psychological abuse;

• Discrimination and;

• Behaviours such as described above that are not directed towards a specific individual or group but have the same effect of creating a negative or hostile environment.

Oppression means the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power, whether explicit or through systemic policies and behaviours.

Threatening means the implicit or implied expression of an act of potential violence, discrimination, harassment, or oppression.

Violence is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation (World Health Organization).

Stalking is the repeated act of unwanted pursuit or close proximity to an individual. Yellowknife Pride defines proximity as consistently staying within a space of 30 meters for an extended period of time.

Zero Tolerance means that Yellowknife Pride will address all incidents and allegations of violence immediately and in support of the victim. Any Attendee reasonably determined by an Event Runner to be in violation of the Yellowknife Pride Community Agreement and/or any Canadian laws will be immediately removed from attending Festival events for the duration of the Festival.